
























.1LAMIMLLT<& of the E&.TIEES at FlLlZMOTUTHL Z)ec. 22 *2620 



























































































































































































































































































































































































































































NEW ENGLAND SCENES: 

OB. A 

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-iCTION OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING 

EVENTS. 


WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE SINCE THE 


,T SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND: 


PRINCIPALLY O^jj. RELIGIOUS NATURE. 


ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS'. 


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NEW HAVEN: L. H. YOUNG. 





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Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the 
year 1832, by J. W. Barber, in the Clerk’s Office, of 
the District Court of Connecticut. 


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Printed by Whitmore & Minor, 






CONTENTS. 




Introduction . . 


Page 

5 

Plymouth Settlers 


9 

Indian Worship - 


15 

The Indian Mother 


18 

First Settlers of Connecticut 


21 

New Haven Settlers 


23 

Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, the First Minis¬ 
ters in Connecticut - 

26 

Dangers and privations of the first settlers 
of New England 

33 

Elliot, the Indian Missionary 


35 

Hiacoomes, the First Indian Convert • 


38 

Indian Barbarities 


44 

Remarkable Deliverances 


45 

Remarkable Judgments - 


50 

Fasts and Thanksgiving - 


54 

David Brainerd - 


56 

Whitefield, the celebrated preacher 


62 

Revival of Religion in New England 


66 

Prayer and Conference Meeting - 

- 

79 



IV 


CONTENTS. 


Departure of the Missionaries from New 
Haven for the Sandwich Islands 
Anniversary of the landing of the Fathers 
at Plymouth 

Appendix .... 


83 


86 

89 


INTRODUCTION. 


New England owes its first settlement to religious per¬ 
secution. After the commencement of the Reformation 
in England from Popery, in 1534, the Protestants were 
divided into two parties; one the followers of Luther, 
and the other of Calvin. The former chose gradually 
to recede from the church of Rome, and retained many 
ceremonies which were thought by the followers of Cal¬ 
vin to savor too much of Romish superstition. Their 
endeavors to remove from the church all the inventions 
of men, and to introduce the “ Scripture purity,” pro¬ 
cured for them the name of Puritans. 

The endeavors of the Puritans to effect the reforma- 

•* 

tion they desired, soon brought upon them the opposi¬ 
tion of the other party, whose religious tenets, &c. were 
made by law the established religion of Engl<*nd. Hence 
numerous oppressive laws were enacted, by which the 
Puritans were abridged in their freedom, and an act was 
passed in order to compel them to conform to the estab¬ 
lished religion of the kingdom. As they could not con¬ 
scientiously do this, many of the Puritans left their na- 

2 



VI 


tive land and went to Holland, and resided there a num¬ 
ber of years. Although protected in that country in the 
enjoyment of their religious rights and privileges, yet 
they saw that it was probable that their children after 
them, would gradually become corrupted by the man¬ 
ners and customs of the people among whom they resi¬ 
ded. The New World (as it was then called) appeared 
to them to be the only place where they could quietly 
live in the enjoyment of their religious privileges, and 
where they could bring up their children “ in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord,” remote from the influence 
of vicious example. 

Accordingly, in 1620, a company of these Pilgrims 
came over the Atlantic and settled at Plymouth; they 
were quickly followed by many of their brethren, and 
soon permanently laid the foundation of fair and flour¬ 
ishing colonies. The first settlers of New England were 
men of no ordinary cast. They were men of piety, 
virtue and intelligence ; many of them had moved in the 
first circles of society in their native land, and had a 
high sense of civil and religious liberty. Hence they 
laid deep the foundations of those institutions which 
were calculated for the liberty, happiness, and prosperi¬ 
ty of their descendants. They endeavored to make the 
“ Word of find” their rule in all their civil and religious 


VII 


transactions, and thus the blessing of Heaven has de¬ 
scended upon their children ; and it is believed that there 
is no spot on the face of the earth of equal extent, 
where the people as a body are so distinguished for vir¬ 
tue, happiness and intelligence. 

But these blessings have not been preserved to us, 
without much toil, danger and privation. Soon after 
our forefathers arrived, and while they were engaged in 
clearing the rugged forests, they were assailed by the 
savages of the wilderness. Notwithstanding all their 
efforts to live in peace, and to do justly by the natives 
of the country, many were the plots laid by the Indians 
for their extermination. Many times the unoffending 
settler and his defenceless family, were murdered, or car¬ 
ried into painful captivity. After they had subdued the 
Indians in their immediate vicinity, our fathers were as¬ 
sailed by the French and Indians from Canada. Much 
blood and treasure were spent in this war; but Canada 
was conquered, and ceded to the British king. The 
country now rapidly advanced in prosperity ; but soon 
the mother country began to be jealous of the rising im¬ 
portance of the American colonies; various laws were 
passed to check their growth and prosperity, which 
were considered as oppressive and destructive to their 
rights as freemen. The storm of the revolution now 


Vlll 


arose. The people of the United Colonies took up arms 
against their oppressors, and effected the independence 
of our country. In this eventful struggle, New Eng¬ 
land took an active part, and many of her sons sealed 
the inheritance with their blood. 

Through all these scenes of blood and devastation, 
our fathers were attentive to their duties as Christians. 
They endeavored to introduce the blessings of Chris¬ 
tianity and civilization among the Indians about them; 
they also laid the foundations of colleges and schools. 
When they were in trouble and difficulty, they placed 
their reliance, and called upon that God who answered 
and delivered them; and we their children, if we expect 
the blessing of heaven to remain with us, must imitate 
their example of piety and virtue. 


NEW ENGLAND SCENES, &c 


1. Plymouth Settlers. 

The colony at Plymouth, Mass, was the 
first European settlement in New England. 
It was planted principally for the sake of 
the free and undisturbed enjoyment of reli¬ 
gious and civil liberty. The colonists were 
originally from the north of England; and 
were of that class of people in those days 
called Puritans , so named from their un¬ 
common zeal in endeavoring to preserve the 
purity of divine worship. 

Being persecuted by their enemies, dur¬ 
ing the reign of James I., they fled with 
their pastor, to Amsterdam in Holland, in 
1608. They afterwards removed to Ley¬ 
den, where they remained till they sailed 
for America. 


2* 



10 


Having received the patent and propo¬ 
sals from the merchants and friends on 
whom they depended for assistance, they 
began to “ prepare themselves with all 
speed.” They procured two small ships, 
and all things being in readiness for their 
departure from Leyden, they kept a day of 
solemn humiliation and prayer. Their pas¬ 
tor Mr. Robinson, preached from Ezra viii. 
21 ,—“ Then I proclaimed a fast at the 
river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves 
before our God, to seek of him a right way 
for us, and for our little ones, and for all our 
substance.” 

On the day of their departure the wind 
was fair; their friends went on board with 
them, and “ distressing was the sight of 
that sad and mournful parting. The sighs 
and sobs and prayers which burst from ev¬ 
ery lip, were sufficient to melt the coldest 
heart; tears gushed from every eye ; the 
kindest speeches were stifled by unuttera¬ 
ble tenderness of soul. The Dutch stran¬ 
gers who were present, could not refrain 
from weeping. Unfeigned love glowed in 


11 


every heart; but the tide, which waits for 
no man, called them away. This moment 
was of overwhelming interest. Their pas¬ 
tor fell on his knees, and they all, with 
cheeks bedewed with tears, commended 
themselves with most fervent prayer to 
God; then with mutual embraces and many 
tears, they parted. To many, this was a 
final parting on earth.” A prosperous gale 
soon bore them to Plymouth, (Eng.) and 
from thence they proceeded about 100 
leagues on their voyage, when they were 
compelled to return, in consequence of one 
of the ships being leaky. This ship was 
condemned, and the other, called the May 
Flower , being crowded with passengers, 
again put to sea, Sept. 6. On the 9th of 
November, after a dangerous passage, they 
arrived at Cape Cod, and the next day an¬ 
chored in the harbor which is formed by 
the hook of the Cape. Their intention was 
to have settled at the mouth of Hudson’s 
river; but the Dutch, wishing to plant there 
a colony of their own, privately hired the 
master of the ship to contrive delays in 


12 


England, and then to conduct them to these 
northern coasts ; and under the pretence of 
shoals and the dangers of winter, to deter 
them from venturing to the place of their 
destination. These were discouraging cir¬ 
cumstances ; and the season being far ad¬ 
vanced, they determined to make the best 
of their present situation. 

Before they landed, they devoutly gave 
thanks to God for their safe arrival, and 
formed themselves into a “ body politic,” 
choosing Mr. John Carver their governor 
for the first year. 

“ Immediately after their landing, they 
again fell on their knees with hearty prais¬ 
es to God, who had been their assurance , 
when far off on the sea. 

They were now truly in a new world. 
Whales spouted in the water ; oaks, pines, 
sassafras, juniper, and other sweet wood, 
shaded their harbor, and plenty of fowl 
flew around them.” 

Finding Cape Cod an unsuitable place 
for a settlement, their next object was to 
fix on a more convenient one. In doing this 


13 


they encountered many difficulties, and it 
was not until the 22d of December, 1620, 
that they safely landed at a place which 
they named Plymouth. 


THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

BY MRS. IIEMANS. 

The breaking waves dash’d high 
On a stern and rock-bound coast, 

And the woods against a stormy sky 
Their giant branches tost; 

And the heavy night hung dark 
The hills and waters o’er, 

When a band of exiles moor’d their bark 
On the wild New England shore. 

Not as the conqueror comes, 

They, the true-hearted came, 

Not with the roll of the stirring drums, 

And the trumpet that sings of fame ; 

Not as the flying come, 

In silence and in fear,— 

They shook the depths of the desert’s gloom 
With their hymns of lofty cheer. 



14 


Amidst the storm they sang, 

And the stars heard, and the sea! 

And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
To the anthem of the free ! 

The ocean-eagle soar’d 

From his nest by the white wave’s foam, 

And the rocking pines of the forest roar’d— 

This was their welcome home ! 

There were men with hoary hair, 

Amidst that pilgrim band— 

Why had they come to wither there, 

Away from their childhood’s land ? 

There was woman’s fearless eye. 

Lit up by her deep love’s truth ; 

There was manhood’s brow serenely high, 

And the fiery heart of youth. 

What sought they thus afar ? 

Bright jewels of the mine ? 

The wealth of seas, the spoils of war ? 

—They sought a faith’s pure shrine ! 

Ay, call it holy ground, 

The soil where first they trod ! 

They have left unstain’d what there they found— 
Freedom to worship God ! 


15 


2. Indian Worship, &c. 

The Indians of this country were gene¬ 
rally Polytheists, or believed in a plurality 
of Gods. Some were considered as local 
deities; yet they believed that there was one 
Supreme God, or Great Spirit , the Creator 
of the rest, and of all creatures and things. 
Him, the natives of New England called 
Kichtan. They believed that good men, at 
death, ascended to Kichtan, above the heav¬ 
ens, where they enjoyed their departed 
friends and all good things ; that bad men 
also went and knocked at the gate of glory, 
but Kichtan bade them depart, for there 
was no place for such, whence they wan¬ 
dered in restless poverty. This Supreme 
Being they held to be good, and prayed to 
him when they desired any great favor, and 
paid a sort of acknowledgment to him, for 
plenty, victory, &c. The manner of wor¬ 
ship in many of the Indian tribes, was to 
sing and dance around a large fire. 


16 


There was another power which they 
called Hobbamock, in English' the Devil, of 
whom they stood in greater awe, and wor¬ 
shipped him merely from a principle of fear, 
and it is said that they sometimes even 
sacrificed their own children to appease 
him.* They prayed to him to heal their 
wounds and diseases. When found cura¬ 
ble, he was supposed to be the author of 
their complaints ; when they were mortal, 
they were ascribed to Kichtan, whose dis¬ 
eases none are able to remove ; therefore, 
they never prayed to him in sickness. Their 
priests, which were called Powaws, and 
their chief warriors, pretended often to see 
Hobbamock in the shape of a man, fawn, 
or eagle, but generally of a snake, who gave 
them advice in their difficult undertakings. 
The duty and office of the Powaws, was to 
pray to Hobbamock for the removal of 
evils; the common people joined or said 
amen. In his prayer the Powaw promised 


* Morse and Parish’s History of New England. 



HJOMA^r WCDIRgMIF 




The MEDIAN - MOTHER 

on Martha’s Vineyard, praying for the life of /ter fhihZ.. 
































































17 


skins, kettles, hatchets, beads, &c. as sacri¬ 
fices, if his request should be granted. 

The apparent insensibility of the Indians 
under pains and wounds is well known ; yet 
they had awful apprehensions of death. 

When sick, and all hope of recovery was 
gone, their bursting sobs and sighs, their 
wringing hands, their flowing tears, and 
dismal cries and shrieks, were enough to 
excite sympathy from the hardest heart. 
Their affection was very strong for their 
children, who by indulgence were saucy 
and undutiful. A father would sometimes, 
through grief and rage for the loss of a child, 
stab himself. Some tribes of Indians would 
not allow of mentioning the name of a friend 
after death. When a person died, they 
generally buried with him his bow and ar¬ 
rows, dogs, and whatever was valuable to 
him while living, supposing he would want 
them in another world, as their ideas of the 
happiness of heaven consisted in finding 
plenty t>f game, feasting, &c. 

The I^lians appeared to have distinct tra¬ 
ditions of the creation and deluge, and some 
3 



18 


of their words, rites, and ceremonies, bear 
a strong affinity to those of the ancient He¬ 
brews. 


3. The Indian Mother. 

The following account, taken from Ma¬ 
ther’s Magnalia, serves to show us, that 
the Almighty has not left himself without 
a witness, even among pagan nations, and 
it does not become us to say that the Lord 
does not reveal himself at times to those who 
look to him for help, who have never heard 
the way of life and salvation by Jesus 
Christ. 

“ Pammehanuit , an Indian of prime quality, 
on Martha’s Vineyard, and his wife, having 
buried their first five children successively, 
every one of them within ten days of their 
birth, notwithstanding all their use of powaws 
and of medicines to preserve them,—they 
had a sixth child, (a son) born about the year 
1638, which was a few years before the 
English first settled on the Vineyard. The 


19 


mother was greatly perplexed with fear 
that she should lose this child, like the for¬ 
mer ; and utterly despairing of any help 
from such means as had been formerly tried 
with so little success, as soon as she was 
able, with a sorrowful heart, she took up 
her child, and went out into the field, that 
she might weep out her sorrows. While 
she was musing on the insufficiency of all 
human help, she felt it powerfully suggest¬ 
ed unto her mind, that there is one Almigh¬ 
ty God who is to he prayed unto; that this 
God had created all the things that we see ; 
and that the God who had given being to 
herself ’ and all other people , and given her 
child unto her , was easily able to continue the 
life of her child. 

“ Hereupon, this poor pagan woman re¬ 
solved, that she would seek unto this GOD 
for that mercy, and she did accordingly. 
The issue was, that her child lived; and 
her faith in liim, who thus answered her 
prayer, was wonderfully strengthened ; the 
consideration whereof caused her to dedi¬ 
cate this child unto the service of that God 


20 


who had preserved his life ; and educate 
him as far as might be, to become the ser¬ 
vant of God. 

Not long after this, the English came to 
settle on Martha’s Vineyard; and the In¬ 
dians who had been present at some of the 
English devotions, reported that they as¬ 
sembled frequently together, and that the 
man who spoke among them, often looked 
upward. This woman from this report, 
presently concluded, that their assemblies 
were for prayers ; and that their prayers 
were unto that very God whom she had 
addressed for the life of her child. She was 
confirmed in this, when the gospel was 
not long after preached by Mr. May hew to 
the Indians ; which gospel she readily, 
cheerfully and heartily embraced. And in 
the confession that she made publicly at her 
admission into the church, she gave a rela¬ 
tion of the preparation for the knowledge of 
Christ , wherewith God had in this remark¬ 
able way favored her. Her child (whose 
name was Japhet,) became afterwards an 
eminent minister of Christ. He was pastor 


21 


to an Indian Church onMartha’s Vineyard; 
he also took much pains to carry the gos¬ 
pel unto other Indians on the main land, 
and his labors were attended with much 
success.” 

4. First Settlers of Connecticut. 

In 1635, October 15th, about sixty men, 
women and children, from Dorchester, 
Mass, with their horses, cattle, and swine, 
took up their march across the wilderness 
to Connecticut river. Their dangerous 
journey over mountains and rivers, and 
through swamps, they were two weeks in 
performing. “ The forests through which 
they passed for the first time, resounded 
with the praises of God. On their way 
they prayed and sang psalms and hymns ; 
the Indians following them in silent admi¬ 
ration.” It was so late in the season when 
they reached the place of their destination, 
now called Windsor, that they were una¬ 
ble to find feed for their cattle, most of 
which died the ensuing winter. 

3 * 


22 


Disappointed in receiving their provi¬ 
sions, famine threatened them ; and those 
who remained through the winter were 
obliged to subsist on acorns, malt, and 
grains. 

It is difficult to describe, or even to con¬ 
ceive the apprehensions and distresses of 
these people, during this doleful winter. 
All the horrors of a dreary wilderness 
spread themselves around. They were 
compassed with numerous, fierce, and cru¬ 
el tribes of wild and savage men, who could 
have easily destroyed them at pleasure. 
They had neither bread for themselves, nor 
children, neither habitations, nor clothing 
convenient for them. Whatever might 
happen to them, they were cut off both, by 
land and water from any succor or retreat. 

About the beginning of the next summer 
(1636,) Mr. Hooker, Mr. Stone, and about 
one hundred men, women, and children, 
took their departure from Cambridge, 
Mass, and traveled more than one hundred 
miles through a howling and trackless wil¬ 
derness, to Hartford. They had no guide 










VTUL 



preaching to the first Settlors of 2JewHaven Con. 




















































































23 


but their compass; their way lay over 
mountains, through swamps, thickets, and 
across rivers, which were not passable but 
with great difficulty. They had no cover 
but the heavens, nor any lodgings but those 
which simple nature afforded them. They 
drove with them one hundred and sixty 
head of cattle, and subsisted on the milk of 
their cows. They were obliged to carry 
Mrs. Hooker upon a litter. 

5. New Haven Settlers. 

New Haven was settled in the year 1638, 
by a company of persons, of whom the Rev. 
John Davenport, their pastor, was one of 
the most distinguished. He was born at 
Coventry, Eng. in 1597, and sent to the 
College at Oxford before he was fourteen 
years old. Thence he was called to preach 
in London, at the age of nineteen, where 
by his piety and learning he soon became 
distinguished as a minister of the Gospel. 
This was while the puritans were persecu¬ 
ted for their religious sentiments. Mr. Da¬ 
venport, among the rest of his brethren, 



24 


soon felt the effects of persecution ; and in 
the year 1633, retired into Holland. In 
1637 he with several other eminent Chris¬ 
tians and their families, came over to New 
England. In the spring of 1638, Mr. Da¬ 
venport, and Mr. Eaton (who was after¬ 
wards chosen governor of the Colony,) with 
others of their company, sailed from Bos¬ 
ton, Mass, and in about a fortnight reached 
Quinnipiack, which they afterwards named 
New Haven. The first public worship in 
this new plantation was attended on Lord's 
day, April 18th. The people assembled un¬ 
der a large spreading oak, and Mr. Daven¬ 
port preached to them from Matt. iii. 1st, 
on the temptations of the wilderness. “ He 
insisted on the temptations of the wilder¬ 
ness, made such observations, and gave such 
directions and exhortations as were applica¬ 
ble to the then present state of his hearers. 
He left this remark,—that he enjoyed a 
good day.” 

Soon after the settlers arrived at New 
Haven, they kept a day of fasting and pray¬ 
er, at the close of which they entered into 


25 


what they termed & plantation covenant . In 
this they solemnly bound themselves, that 
in all their affairs, whether civil or religious, 
they would be guided by the “ rule which 
the scripture held forth to them.” 

The first church that was gathered in 
New Haven consisted of seven members. 
These were chosen by the settlers, after 
Mr. Davenport had preached from the 
words of Solomon, “ Wisdom hath builded 
her house, she hath hewed out her seven 
pillars.” These men were indeed the pil¬ 
lars of the church, to whom the rest were 
added as they became qualified. 

Mr. Davenport died at the age of 73. 
He was a laborious, prudent, exemplary 
minister, and a man of distinguished piety. 
He was profound in council, and intrepid in 
action. When the Judges of king Charles 
fled from England and came over to this 
country, they were concealed for some time 
in and near New Haven. They were es¬ 
teemed by the colonists as men of worth 
and piety, and they often times assisted 
them in their concealments. When the pur- 


26 


suers of the judges came to New Haven, 
Mr. Davenport preached publicly from this 
text: (Isa. xxv. 3, 4.) Take counsel , exe¬ 
cute judgment , make thy shadow as the night 
in the midst of the noon day , hide the outcasts , 
betray not him that wanderetli. Let my out¬ 
casts dwell with thee , Moab; be thou a covert 
to them from the face of the spoiler. “ It 
was Davenport’s intrepidity that saved the 
judges.” 

6. Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, the first 
Ministers in Connecticut. 

The Rev. Thomas Hooker, one of the 
pillars of Connecticut colony, was born in 
England in 1586. He was educated at 
Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he 
was afterwards promoted to a fellowship, 
in which office “ he acquitted himself with 
such ability and faithfulness, as commanded 
universal admiration and respect.” It was 
during this period that he embraced religion, 
and soon after became a preacher of the 
gospel. He was highly distinguished for 


27 


his ministerial talents, and a remarkable suc¬ 
cess attended his preaching ; but the time of 
religious persecution having arrived, Mr. 
Hooker was obliged to leave his native land, 
and for the sake of enjoying religious privi¬ 
leges, came over to New England in 1633. 
The next year after his arrival at Hartford, 
(where he was deservedly considered the fa¬ 
ther and oracle of the colony,)* the Pequot 
war took place. The Pequot Indians were 
the most warlike and ferocious tribe in New 
England, and having murdered a number 
of persons, the whole colony was thrown 
into distress and alarm, and it was deter¬ 
mined to send 90 men, (about half of the 
whole force of the colony of Connecticut,) 
under the command of Capt. Mason, against 
the Pequots. 

Previous to their marching, Mr. Hooker 
addressed the soldiers in the following man¬ 
ner : 

“ Fellow Soldiers, Countrymen, and 
Companions: you are this day assembled 
by the special providence of God, you are 
not collected by wild fancy, nor ferocious 


28 


passions. It is not a tumultuous assembly* 
whose actions are abortive* or if successful, 
produce only theft, rapine, rape, and mur¬ 
der ; crimes inconsistent with nature’s light, 
inconsistent with a soldier’s valor. You, 
my dear hearts, were selected from your 
neighbors, by the godly fathers of the land, 
for your known courage to execute such a 
work. 

“ Your cause is the cause of heaven; the 
enemy have blasphemed your God, and 
slain his servants ; you are only the minis¬ 
ters of his justice. I do not pretend that 
your enemies are careless or indifferent: no, 
their hatred is inflamed, their lips thirst for 
blood; they would devour you, and all the 
people of God ; but my brave soldiers, their 
guilt has reached the clouds; they are ripe 
for destruction ; their cruelty is notorious ; 
and cruelty and cowardice are always united. 

“ There is nothing, therefore, to prevent 
your certain victory, but their nimble feet, 
their impenetrable swamps, and woods; 
from these your small numbers will entice 
them, or your courage drive them. I now 





6 



Mr. HOOKER 

addressing the soldiers of Corme-cticut. 

























29 


put the question—who would not fight in 
such a cause? fight with undaunted bold-* 
ness ? Do you wish for more encouragement ? 
more I give you. Riches awaken the sol¬ 
dier’s sword; and though you will not ob¬ 
tain silver and gold, on the field of victory, 
you will secure what is infinitely more pre¬ 
cious ; you will secure the liberties, the priv¬ 
ileges, and the lives of Christ's church, in this 
new world. 

“You will procure safety for your affec¬ 
tionate wives, safety for your prattling, 
harmless, smiling babes; you will secure all 
the blessings enjoyed by the people of God 
in the ordinances of the gospel. Distin¬ 
guished was the honor conferred upon Da¬ 
vid, for fighting the battles of the Lord ; this 
honor, O ye courageous soldiers of God, is 
now prepared for you. You will now exe¬ 
cute his vengance on the heathen ; you will 
bind their kings in chains, and their nobles 
in fetters of iron. But perhaps some one 
may fear that a fatal arrow may deprive 
him of this honor. 


4 


30 


“Lei every faithful soldier of Jesus Christ, 
be assured, that if any servant be taken 
away, it is merely because the honors of 
this world are too narrow for his reward ; 
an everlasting crown is set upon his head ; 
because the rewards of this life are insuffi¬ 
cient. March, then, with Christian cour¬ 
age, in the strength of the Lord; march 
with faith in his divine promises, and soon 
your swords shall find your enemies ; soon 
they shall fall like the leaves of the forest 
under your feet.” 

Mr. Hooker died July 7th, 1647. It was 
his desire to live no longer than he could be 
useful to his people. His last sickness was 
short, during which he said but little. Be¬ 
ing asked his opinion on some important 
things, he replied, “ I have not that work 
now to perform ; I have declared the coun¬ 
sel of the Lord.” One of his friends who 
stood by his bed-side observed to him, that 
he now was going to receive the reward of 
all his labors. “ Brother,” said he, “ I am 
going to receive mercy.” 

Mr. Samuel Stone was born at Hartford, 


31 


Eng., educated at Emanuel College, Cam¬ 
bridge, and became a pious and exemplary 
minister. He came over to New England, 
in the same ship that brought over Mr. 
Hooker, and removed with him and his peo¬ 
ple to Hartford, as his colleague or assist¬ 
ant in the ministry. 

When the colony of Connecticut sent 
their men against the Pequots, Mr. Stone 
was appointed chaplain to the soldiers, and 
accompanied them in their expedition. Af¬ 
ter having proceeded on their expedition, 
Capt. Mason and his officers were much di¬ 
vided in their opinions respecting the course 
they should pursue in attacking the enemy. 
In this situation, Mr. Stone was earnestly 
desired by the officers to pray for them, 
“ that their way might be directed.” Mr. 
Stone spent the most of the night in prayer, 
and in the morning informed Capt. Mason 
that he had done as he desired, and then 
mentioned the course he was satisfied they 
ought to pursue. Accordingly, Capt. Ma¬ 
son and his men went forward and attack¬ 
ed the Pequots in their strong hold and en- 


32 


tirely defeated them. Out of five or six 
hundred Pequots, only seven or eight esca¬ 
ped, and the colony of Connecticut was 
thus delivered from danger, if not entire de¬ 
struction. 

Mr. Stone died July 20th, 1663. It is 
said that he was an extraordinary person 
in argument, and his company was much 
sought, by men of learning. 

The following inscription which was en¬ 
graved on his tomb, as a testimony of the 
affection and esteem of his bereaved congre¬ 
gation, is still to be seen back of the centre 
Congregational church in Hartford. 

“ New England’s glory and her radiant crowne, 
Was he who now in softest bed of downe, 

Til glorious Resurrection morne appeare 
Doth safely, sweetly sleepe in Jesus here. 

• Tis known beyond compare he did excell; 

Errors corrupt by sinnewous dispute 
He did oppugne and clearly them confute; 

Above all things he Christ his Lord prefer’d 
Hartford, thy richest jewel’s here inter’d.” 


33 


7 . Dangers and Privations of the First 
Settlers of New England. 

In these happy times, when nearly all our 
inhabitants enjoy the blessings, comforts, 
and privileges of a civilized and Christian 
community, with an abundance of the ne¬ 
cessaries and conveniences of life, we know 
little or nothing, by experience, of the many 
dangers, hardships, and sufferings our pious 
forefathers had to endure. Upon their first 
arrival, nothing was heard but the growl of 
the bear, the howl of the wolf and other wild 
beasts, or the still more terrific yell of the 
savage. They had to subdue the wilder¬ 
ness before they could raise the necessaries 
of life, and they were oftentimes in danger 
of famine from the failure of their crops. 

After they had cleared the wilderness 
around them, and built their habitations, in¬ 
stead of “sitting under their own vine 
and fig-tree,” they were surrounded with 
numerous tribes of savages, who were of- 
ten-times hostile, made war upon them, and 


4 * 



34 


threatened their entire destruction. They 
could neither hunt, fish, cultivate their fields, 
nor travel at home or abroad, but at the 
peril of their lives. Whenever they went 
to their daily labors, or to the place of public 
worship, they were obliged to go armed, 
fearful that their savage foes might be lurk¬ 
ing in some concealment about their path. 
They were obliged to keep a constant watch 
by night and day, around their dwellings. 
They were also obliged on the Lord’s day, 
when they assembled for the worship of 
God, to keep a constant watch and guard 
around the house, lest they all should be sud¬ 
denly surprised, and perish by the hands of 
their enemies. They lay down and rose 
up in danger. If they should raise a party 
of men and send them against the enemy on 
their own ground, it would leave their 
wives and children without a proper de¬ 
fence, in case of an assault from the enemy. 
At times, every thing, indeed, appeared dark 
and distressing. “ But nothing could discour¬ 
age men who had an unshaken confidence 
in God, and were determined to sacrifice ev- 


35 


ery other consideration, for the enjoyment 
of the uncorrupted gospel, and the propaga¬ 
tion of religion and liberty in America.” 

8. Elliot, the Indian Missionary. 

In 1650, the society in England instituted 
for propagating the gospel, began a corres¬ 
pondence with the commissioners of the 
colonies of New England, who were em¬ 
ployed as agents of the society.. In conse¬ 
quence, exertions were made to christian¬ 
ize the Indians. Mr. John Elliot, minister 
of Roxbury, distinguished himself in this 
pious work. He collected the Indian fami¬ 
lies, and established towns; he taught them 
husbandry, the mechanic arts, a prudent 
management of their affairs, and instructed 
them with unwearied attention in the prin¬ 
ciples of Christianity. For his uncommon 
zeal and success, he has been called the 
Apostle of New England. 

Mr. Elliot began his labors about the year 
1646. His first labor was to learn the lan¬ 
guage, which was peculiarly difficult to ac- 


36 


quire; for instance, the Indian word Num- 
matchechodtantamoonganunnomsh signified 
no more in English than our lusts. Elliot 
having finished a grammar of this tongue, 
at the close of it wrote “Prayers and 
yains through faith in Christ will do any 
thing!” with very great labor he trans¬ 
lated the whole Bible into the Indian lan¬ 
guage. This Bible was printed in 1664, at 
Cambridge, and was the first Bible ever prin¬ 
ted in America. He also translated the 
Practice of Piety, Baxter's Call to the Un¬ 
converted, besides some smaller works, into 
the Indian tongue. 

In the course of his labors Mr. Elliot 
passed through many scenes' of danger, dif¬ 
ficulty and suffering. On one occasion, 
which may be taken as a specimen of the 
dangerous journeys which he made through 
the dreary wilderness to his scattered In¬ 
dians, he says, “ I was not dry night nor day 
from the third day to the sixth; but so trav¬ 
eled ; and at night I pull off my boots, wring 
my stockings, and on with them again, and 
so continued; yet God helped. I consider- 


37 


ed that word 2. Tim. ii. 3.; Endure hard¬ 
ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ 
Many were the affronts that Mr. Elliot 
received while in his missionary work, when 
traveling through the wild parts of the coun¬ 
try, unattended with any English friends. 
Sometimes the Sachems would thrust him 
out from among them, telling him that he 
was impertinent to trouble himself with 
them, or their religion, and that if he came 
again it was at his peril; but his usual reply 
was, “ lam about the work of the great God; 
and my God is with me; so that I fear neither 
you nor all the Sachems in the country; I will 
go on , and do you touch me if you dare /”— 
The stoutest of them have, on these occa¬ 
sions, shrunk and fallen before him. Hav¬ 
ing performed many wearisome journeys, 
and endured many hardships and privations, 
this indefatigable missionary closed his la¬ 
bors in 1690, aged eighty-six years. 

The ardor and zeal of Elliot, Mayhew, and 
others, were crowned with such success, 
that in 1660, there were ten towns of In¬ 
dians in Massachusetts, who were converted 


38 


to the Christian religion. In 1695, there 
were not less than three thousand adult In¬ 
dian converts in the islands of Nantucket 
and Martha’s Vineyard. 

9. Hiacoomes, the first Indian Convert. 

The first Indian who embraced the Chris¬ 
tian Religion, was Hiacoomes. His conver¬ 
sion was in 1643.* The descent of Hia¬ 
coomes was esteemed mean by his country¬ 
men ; his speech was slow, Rnd his coun¬ 
tenance not very promising. He was, 
therefore, by the Indian sachems, and oth¬ 
ers of their principal men, viewed as a low 
person, scarcely worthy of their notice or 
regard. Hiacoomes living near the Eng¬ 
lish settlers at Martha’s vineyard, formed 
an acquaintance with them ; and being a 
man of a sober, thoughtful, and ingenuous 
spirit, he not only visited their houses, but 
also their public and religious meetings; 
at which time Mr. Mayliew took particular 


* Hutchinson’s Hist. Mass. Vol. i. 



39 


notice of him ; discoursed often with him ; 
invited him to his house every Sunday eve¬ 
ning ; gave him a clear account of the na¬ 
ture, reasonableness, and importance of the 
Christian faith ; and by the energy of the 
divine spirit, he was quickly brought to a 
firm and resolute adherence to the Christian 
religion. 

Soon after his conversion, he expressed 
an earnest desire to learn to read, that he 
might be in a better way to increase in 
knowledge ; and being presented with a 
suitable book, he carried it about with him, 
till, by the assistance of those who were 
willing to instruct him, he attained to what 
he had in view. 

As soon as Mr. Mayliew found that Hia- 
coomes had gained a competent knowledge 
of Christianity, he employed him, to in¬ 
struct his benighted countrymen. He la¬ 
bored for some time without any apparent 
success. The year after his conversion, he 
went to an Indian’s house, where several of 
that nation were assembled: upon his en¬ 
trance they laughed and derided him, 



40 


“ Here comes the Englishman.” A chief 
present joined with the other Indians, and 
spake in the manner following-—“ I wonder, 
that you, who are a young man, and have 
a wife and two children, should love the 
English and their ways , and forsake the 
powaws ;and he tried to dissuade him 
from following that course by asking him, 
“ what he would do if any of you were sick? 
Whither would you go for help ? If I were 
in your case, nothing should draw me from 
our gods and powaws.” Hiacoomes, how¬ 
ever, persevered in his Christian course, 
notwithstanding all the opposition and ridi¬ 
cule of his countrymen; till his labors for 
their good were crowned with success. 
At one time, Mioxoo , the chief man of the 
place where he lived, sent a messenger in 
the night to Hiacoomes, about five or six 
miles, entreating him to come to him; he 
recieving the message, readily went to Mi- 
oxoo’s house. When he came, he found 
many Indians collected, among whom was 
the chief Sachem of part of the island. Mi¬ 
oxoo recieved Hiacoomes with great appa- 




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41 


rent pleasure, and told him what he desired 
of him; the sum of which was, “ that he 
would show his heart to them, and let them 
know how it stood towards God, and what 
they ought to do.” 

Hiacoomes very cheerfully attended to 
the proposal. He immediately laid hold of 
the opportunity to instruct them; explain¬ 
ing some important points of natural and re¬ 
vealed religion. 

Having finished his speech, Mioxoo ask¬ 
ed him “ how many gods the English wor¬ 
shipped.” Hiacoomes answered, “ one, 
and po more ;” upon which Mioxoo reck¬ 
oned up about thirty-seven principal gods, 
vyhich he had: “ And shall I,” said he, 
“ throw away all these thirty-seven, for the 
sake of one only ?” “ What do you your¬ 
self think?” said Hiacoomes. “For my 
part, I have thrown away all these, and ma¬ 
ny more, some years ago, and yet I am pre¬ 
served to this day.” “You speak true,” 
said Miox&); “ and therefore I will throw 
away all my gods, and serve that one God 
with you.” 


5 


42 


The faith, fortitude, and constancy of 
Hiacoomes, had no small influence to re¬ 
move the obstacles and prepare the way for 
the general propagation of the gospel among 
the natives. At a meeting of the praying 
Indians , some of their heathen neighbors 
came together with a view to intimidate 
them, by representing how they would ex¬ 
pose themselves to the resentment of those 
formidable men, the powaws. One, who 
espoused the cause of the powaws, asked 
this question, “ Who is there that does not 
fear the powaws?” to which another of 
them answered, “ There is no man who is 
not afraid of them.” Upon this he looked 
upon Hiacoomes, who protested the most 
against them, and told him that “ the pow¬ 
aws could kill him : but he answered, “ they 
could not;” and added, “ I believe in God, 
and put my trust in him ; and therefore all 
the powaws can do me no hurt.” The In¬ 
dians then wondering to hear him speak in 
this manner, several of them saicfto one an¬ 
other, “ that though they were before afraid 
of the powaws, yet now, because they 


43 


heard Hiacoomes’s words, they did not 
fear them, but believed in God too.” He 
declared before the SachemS, powaws, and 
a great assembly, that he was ready to ac¬ 
knowledge the god whom they worshiped 
had great power, yet it was limited and sub¬ 
servient to the God whom he had now chos¬ 
en: therefore, though by means of the 
powaws, many had suffered much, and 
some were killed ; yet he despised their 
power, as being a servant of Him, whose 
power overruled all power, and ordered all 
things.” The expecting multitude now 
waited the event—which they concluded 
would be sickness or death; but to their as¬ 
tonishment, he remained unhurt. 

Hiacoomes lived to a great age, and ever 
fully sustained his Christian character. In 
his last sickness he uttered many pious ex¬ 
pressions, and gave good exhortations to 
all about him ; and as was firmly believed, 
entered into that “ rest that remaineth for 
the people of God.” 


44 


10. Indian Barbarities. 

The engraving for this scene represents 
the habitation of a settler on the frontier 
settlements, in flames, while his wife and 
children are driven into captivity by the In¬ 
dians. Scenes of this kind many times 
took place in New England, during the 
wars our forefathers had with the Indians. 

The peaceful family had perhaps retired 
to rest, and in the midst of their midnight 
slumbers, are aroused by the terrific yell of 
savages, who have surrounded their habi¬ 
tation, and are endeavoring to force an en¬ 
trance. The agonized father now sees his 
little flock gather round him with screams 
of terror, and look up to him for protection. 
His wife now sees her dear children and 
the companion of her joys and sorrows, 
upon the point of being sacrificed by their 
merciless foes ;—she utters a shriek of des¬ 
pair, or faints away. The father seizes his 
gun and attempts to defend his famity ; but 
in vain; the enemy rendered furious by op¬ 
position, redouble their efforts, and burst 


45 


open the door ; the hideous painted crew, 
with the instruments of death in their hands, 
now rush into the entrance. The father, 
overpowered by numbers, sinks beneath the 
bloody tomahawk, and a horrible yell of 
savage triumph is heard. The house is ri¬ 
fled of its contents ; the wretched mother, 
with her children, loaded with packs, are 
driven into captivity ; and such of her chil¬ 
dren as are too young to travel, have their 
brains dashed out on the hearth, or against 
the posts of the door, by these inhuman 
monsters. To crown their work of desola¬ 
tion, they set on fire the house and other 
buildings, and march offladen with plunder. 


11. Remarkable Deliverances. 

In the beginning of king Philip’s war, in 
1675, the town of Brookfield, Mass, was 
attacked by a body of Indians, and every 
house in the place destroyed, except one, 
into which the inhabitants, (about seventy 
in number) had fled for refuge. This was 
soon surrounded by their enemies, and for 
5 * 


46 


two days they poured into its walls show¬ 
ers of musket balls : only one person, how¬ 
ever, was killed. Brands and rags dipped 
in brimstone, attached to long poles, were 
used to fire the house ; they also shot ar¬ 
rows of fire against it. Finding every oth¬ 
er means fail, they at length filled a cart 
with tow and other combustible matter, 
and with long poles spliced together push¬ 
ed the cart against the house, and the sava¬ 
ges stood ready to slaughter all those who 
should attempt to escape. In this awful 
and critical moment, their destruction seem¬ 
ed inevitable. But a kind Providence blast¬ 
ed the designs of the enemy. A sudden 
torrent of rain now fell, which extinguished 
the kindling flames. Major Willard with 
a party of men soon after came to their as¬ 
sistance, and dispersed the savages. Well 
might these people say, “ Blessed be the 
Lord , who hath not given us a prey to their 
teeth ; our soul is escaped as a bird out of the 
snare of the fowlers /” 

In one of the first summers after our fore¬ 
fathers had planted themselves at Plymouth, 


10 


The Sense of a Settler Izirnt, - his Family dktven into Captivity 




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47 


a terrible drought threatened the infant col¬ 
ony with famine. From about the middle 
of May to the middle of July, an extreme 
hot sun beat upon their fields, without any 
rain, so that their corn which they had plan¬ 
ted for subsistence began to wither and lan¬ 
guish, and some of it was irrecoverably 
parched up: in this distress, the magistrates 
set apart a day of fasting and prayer. In 
the morning the heavens were clear; the 
earth powder and dust. The religious ex¬ 
ercises continued eight or nine hours. Be¬ 
fore they separated, the sun was obscured, 
the clouds gathered, and the next morning 
began soft and gentle showers, which con¬ 
tinued, with some intervals of delightful 
weather, for fourteen days. A great part 
of the corn revived and grew luxuriantly, 
and the hearts of the people were filled 
with hope and praise. The Indians about 
them took notice of this answer given from 
heaven to the supplications of these pious 
people; and one of them said, “now I see 
that the Englishman's God is a good God; 
for he hath heard you, and sent you rain, 


48 


and that without such tempest and thunder 
as we use to have with our rain, which after 
our powauing for it, breaks down the corn; 
whereas your corn stands whole and good 
still. Surely your God is a good God.” 

A remarkable instance of the divine pro¬ 
tection of the New England Colonies oc¬ 
curred in the year 1746. In this year a 
large fleet of about forty ships of war, un¬ 
der the command of Duke D’Anville was 
sent from France, to attack the colonies. 
The fleet brought over all kinds of warlike 
stores, and a body of between three and 
four thousand regular land forces, com¬ 
manded by experienced officers. This force 
was to be joined by four ships of war under 
Conflans, from the West Indies, and sev¬ 
enteen hundred French and Indians from 
Canada. No English fleet sailed in quest 
of the French, and great was the conster¬ 
nation, when the news was recieved that 
the French fleet drew near the American 
coast. The pious people in the country 
now cried unto Him who was able to save, 
and he appeared for their deliverance. 


49 


Storms were sent. The French fleet sus¬ 
tained much damage and loss by ship¬ 
wrecks. The expected junction of Con- 
flans failed. A pestilential fever prevailed 
among the French troops. Intercepted let¬ 
ters, opened in a council of war, raising ex¬ 
pectation of the speedy arrival of an Eng¬ 
lish fleet, caused a division among the offi¬ 
cers. Under the pressure of these adverse 
occurrences, D’Anville was either seized 
with an apoplectic fit, or took a poisonous 
draught, and suddenly expired. D’Estour- 
nelle, who succeeded him in the command 
of the fleet, proposed in a council of officers, 
to abandon the expedition, and return to 
France. The rejection of this proposal 
caused such extreme agitation, as to bring 
on a fever, which threw him into a deliri¬ 
um, and he fell on his sword. The French, 
thus disconcerted in their plan, resolved to 
make an attempt on Annapolis ; but having 
sailed from Chebucto, they were overtaken 
by a violent tempest, off Cape Sable, and 
what ships escaped destruction, returned 
singly to France. 



50 


A more remarkable instance of preserva¬ 
tion seldom occurs. Had the project of 
the enemy succeeded, it is impossible to de¬ 
termine to what extent the American colo¬ 
nies would have been distressed or desola¬ 
ted. When man is made the instrument of 
averting public calamity, the divine agency 
ought still to be acknowledged; but this 
was averted without human power. If 
philosophers would ascribe this event to 
blind chance, or fatal necessity, Christians 
will assuredly ascribe it to the operation of 
that Being, who in ancient times, caused 
“ the stars, in their courses, to fight against 
Sisera.”* 

12. Remarkable Judgments. 

We have recorded in history, many in¬ 
stances of the divine judgments having over¬ 
taken transgressors in this life. Dr. Cotton 
Mather, in his Magnolia, has given us a 
number of instances which have happened 


* Holmes’ Annals. 




51 


in New England, among which are the fol¬ 
lowing : 

King Philip, the prince of the Wampa- 
noags, was the ringleader of the most ca¬ 
lamitous war which ever happened to the 
first settlers of New England. Mr. Elliot, 
the Indian missionary, once preached the 
gospel of Christ to that king; but he reject¬ 
ed it with contempt and anger, and after the 
Indian mode of joining signs with words, 
he took hold of a button on the good man’s 
coat, and said, “ that he did not value what 
he preached, any more than he did that but¬ 
ton” Besides this, he hindered his subjects 
from embracing the Christian religion.— 
Philip soon afterwards began a war upon 
the English, and after meeting with many 
troubles and disasters, they came upon him 
in a thicket, just as he was telling his coun¬ 
sellors his dream that he was fallen into his 
enemies’ hands. While endeavoring to es¬ 
cape, a friendly Indian shot him through the 
heart; and thus miserably perished this re¬ 
jector of the salvation of Jesus Christ. 

We have often seen, (says Dr. Mather,) 


52 


a contempt of the gospel and its ministers 
chastised among us. “ When the ministers 
of the gospel are holy, prayerful, painful, 
watchful, and faithful servants of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and men filled and actuated 
with his holy Spirit; we have seen the judg¬ 
ments of God many a time, arresting those 
tha^t hjpe abused these ambassadors from 
the Kihg of Heaven . Thus there have been 
angry men among us, who have sat over 
their cups, railing at such or such a minisr 
ter of God, and hoping ere long to see the 
death of him. In a little while they them¬ 
selves have died miserably, and on their 
death-beds they have cried out for that very 
minister to help them in their anguish.” 
Dr. Mather also says, “ Men had need be¬ 
ware of rash speeches , especially of rash 
wishes ; for we have seen sore judgments 
fall out most agreeably thereunto. An old 
professor in one of the churches, being un¬ 
der the admonition of the church for some 
offences, was by his friends called upon to 
repent, reform and humble himself. But 
he flew into this outrageous answer, ‘ No, 



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53 


I will burn , before I will turn And behold 
the issue ! This man sometime after fell in¬ 
to the fire, and was burnt to death.” 

“ A man in the Narraganset country, 
having set his dog to mischief his neighbor’s 
cattle, denied the fact with imprecations, 
That he might never stir from the place if 
he had so done. The neighbor to whom he 
denied it, expressing himself troubled at his 
impudent lying, this atheist thereupon used 
the name of the great God in his impreca¬ 
tions, That God would never let him stir out 
of that place , if he did the thing. The 
words were scarce out of his mouth, but he 
sunk down dead in the place, and never 
stirred any more.” 

“ A debauched fellow had cursed that ex¬ 
cellent man, governor Prince. The gover¬ 
nor laid before the transgressor the great 
sin he had committed; and with a grave, 
holy, awful admonition, besought him to 
consider of that scripture in Psalm cix. 17, 
18: As he loved cursing , so let it come unto 
him , fyc. Quickly after this a dreadful can¬ 
cer smote this man; the cancer appeared 
6 




54 


first in his lip, and so it eat away his flesh, 
and his jaw down to his throat, where, with 
inexpressible torments, it killed him.” 

13. Fasts and Thanksgiving. 

One distinguished trait in the character 
of the New England people is, the custom 
of annually celebrating Fasts and Thanks¬ 
givings. “ In the spring, the governors of 
the several states issue their proclamations, 
appointing a day to be religiously observed 
in fasting, humiliation and prayer, through¬ 
out their respective states; in which the 
predominating vices that particularly call 
for humiliation, are enumerated. In au¬ 
tumn, after harvest, that gladsome season 
in the husbandman’s life, the governors 
again issue their proclamations, appointing 
a day of public thanksgiving, enumerating 
the public blessings received in the course 
of the foregoing year.” 

“ This pious custom originated with their 
venerable ancestors, the first settlers of New 
England ; and has been handed down as sa- 


55 


cred through the successive generations of 
their posterity. A custom so rational, and 
so happily calculated to cherish in the minds 
of the people a sense of their dependence 
on the Great Benefactor of the world for all 
their blessings, it is hoped, will ever be sa¬ 
credly preserved. Other states in the Un¬ 
ion are adopting this wise practice.” 

On the return of the annual thanksgiving, 
“ the church-going bell” summons the peo¬ 
ple to the house of God, where public praise 
and thanksgiving is given to the author of 
all blessings. The preacher, on these oc¬ 
casions, recounts the mercies of the last 
year, and perhaps calls to the mind of his 
hearers, how we are distinguished as a na¬ 
tion, for our civil and religious liberties and 
privileges; how kind Providence has watch¬ 
ed over and protected us as a people, 
through many dangers and difficulties. Up¬ 
on their return, the parents amidst their 
joyous children, now surround the plentiful 
board, which is amply stored with a rich 
variety. The pious father, with a heart 
swelling with gratitude, lifts his heart to the 


56 


Great Benefactor and implores his blessing. 
This is a day of calm solace and satisfac¬ 
tion to the aged, when surrounded by their 
children and children’s children, who pay 
the homage of veneration, respect and af¬ 
fection ; this, a day of joy and festivity to 
the young—a time when the reciprocal of¬ 
fices of friendship are renewed—a time 
when the kind hand of charity is extended 
to the children of misfortune. 


14. David Brainerd. 

This pious and devoted missionary was 
born in Haddam, Connecticut, April 20th, 
1719. From his earliest youth he was re¬ 
markably serious and thoughtful. “ His 
natural constitution was tinctured with mel¬ 
ancholy, which, notwithstanding the power 
and influence of Christianity in his heart, 
often embittered his life, and covered his 
mind with a veil of doubt and gloom: against 
this natural infirmity he had to struggle till 
his dying day ; and when this is considered, 
his abundant labors, indefatigable applica- 


lion and ardent zeal, were indeed surpris¬ 
ing : they forcibly illustrated the truth of 
the Divine promise—“ My strength is made 
perfect in weakness.” 

At the age of twenty, he commenced a 
course of study with a view of entering the 
sacred ministry. He became remarkably 
strict in all the outward duties of religion, 
but soon was convinced that all his outward 
acts of prayer, fasting, &c. would be of no 
avail while his heart remained unchanged 
and unreconciled to God. For the attain¬ 
ment of this divine change, he labored and 
prayed incessantly, but it was with the se¬ 
cret hope of recommending himself to God 
by his religious duties. At length however, 
this self-righteous foundation was swept 
away ; he saw his entire helplessness and 
dependence on the mere mercy of God for 
salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Mr. Brainerd, in the account which he 
gives of his conversion, says: “ While I was 
endeavoring to pray, as I was walking in a 
dark thick grove, unspeakable glory seemed 
to open to the view of my sold—it was a 
6 * 


58 


new, inward apprehension I had of God, 
such as I never had before—my soul rejoic¬ 
ed with joy unspeakable, to see such a glo¬ 
rious divine being—my soul was so capti¬ 
vated and delighted with the excellency, 
loveliness of greatness, and other perfections 
of God, that I was even swallowed up in 
him to that degree, that at first, I scarce re¬ 
flected that there was such a creature as 
myself.” 

In Sept. 1739, Brainerd entered himself 
as a graduate at Yale College, New Haven, 
Conn. While at this place, he was distin¬ 
guished for diligence and attention to his 
studies; likewise for his piety and ardent 
zeal for the promotion of religion. 

After leaving College, his mind seemed 
deeply impressed with the spirit of a Chris¬ 
tian Missionary and an ardent longing for 
the salvation of the heathen. He spent 
whole days in fasting, and prayer that God 
would prepare him for his great work ; and 
indeed throughout his whole life he was 
truly a “ man of prayer,” lifting up his heart 
to God on all occasions, frequently spend- 


59 


ing whole days in prayer and meditation in 
the fields and woods, desiring holiness of 
heart far above every other object. 

In 1743, Mr. Brainerd was sent by the 
“ Society for the propagation of Christian 
Knowledge” to the Indians atKaunaumeek, 
a place in the woods between Stockbridge 
and Albany. In this lonely place he con¬ 
tinued about a year, and endured many 
hardships and privations; “ yet” says he, 
“ my spiritual conflicts and distresses so far 
exceed these, that I scarcely think of them.” 
The number of Indians being small at this 
place, and the field of his usefulness limited, 
Mr. Brainerd thought he could do more for 
the cause of Christ to labor among the Indi¬ 
ans at the forks of the Delaware, in New 
Jersey, at the place called Crosweeksung, 
which was the scene of his great success; he 
labored for some months with little appa¬ 
rent success, and became almost discoura¬ 
ged ; but the love of Christ constrained him 
to go forward, and at length the power of 
God evidently attended the word, so that a 
number of these savages were brought un- 


60 


der great concern for their souls. The work 
of grace now progressed. Mr. Brainerd, 
in his journal, gives an instance of the effect 
which followed the preaching of the word 
of God. “ There was much concern” says 
he “ among them while I was discoursing 
publicly; but afterwards, when' I spoke to 
one and another whom I perceived more 
particularly under toncern, the power of 
God seemed to attend upon the assembly, 
like a mighty rushing wind, and with an 
astonishing energy bore down all before it.” 

“ 1 stood amazed at the influence that sei¬ 
zed upon the audience almost universally. 
Almost all persons, of all ages, were bowed 
down together. Old men and women, 
who had been drunken wretches for many 
years, and some little children not more 
than six or seven years of age, appeared in 
distress for their souls, as well as persons of 
middle age. These were almost univer¬ 
sally praying and crying for mercy in every 
part of the house, and many out of doors, 
and numbers could neither go nor stand; 
their concern was so great, each for himself, 


61 


that none seemed to take any notice of those 
about them, but each prayed for him¬ 
self. Methought this had a near resem¬ 
blance to the day of God’s power, mention¬ 
ed Josh. x. 14; for I must say, I never saw 
any day like it in all respects; it was a day 
wherein the Lord did much to destroy the 
kingdom of darkness among this people.” 
A church was soon gathered among these 
poor pagans; and such was the change ef¬ 
fected among this degraded people, that 
many exclaimed with astonishment, “What 
hath God wrought ?” 

Mr. Brainerd labored excessively among 
the people of his charge. He frequently 
made long and tedious journeys to the Eng¬ 
lish settlements for assistance to forward 
the objects of his mission, and also among 
the surrounding tribes of Indians to carry 
the gospel to the outcasts who were ready 
to perish. The hardships and dangers 
which he encountered and escaped, in the 
wilderness, are almost incredible. He con¬ 
tinued among the Indians till March, 1747, 
when the ravages of disease, brought on by 


his hardships and exposures, forced him to 
leave the people of his charge. He died 
at Northampton, Mass, at the house of the 
Rev. Jonathan Edwards, Oct. 9th. 1749. 

15. Whitefield, the celebrated 
Preacher. 

The Rev. George Whitefield was born at 
Gloucester, Eng. Dec. 16th. 1714. He 
was considered both in England and Amer¬ 
ica, one of the most powerful and eloquent 
preachers of modern times. His fervent 
zeal was not confined to the British Islands, 
but crossing the Atlantic, he several times 
visited the American colonies, where as well 
as in Britain his preaching was followed 
with astonishing success. The religious 
people of New England will long remem¬ 
ber the era of his visits among them as giv¬ 
ing a new impulse to the cause of vital 
Christianity. The attention of the people 
was greatly awakened upon hearing the 
fame of him,—that there was a remarkable 
preacher from England traveling through 


63 


the country. Multitudes flocked to hear 
him whenever he preached; and at one 
time, when he preached on Boston com¬ 
mon, the number of his hearers was estima¬ 
ted at twenty-three thousand persons. His 
eloquence was indeed very great, and of the 
truest kind. The importance of his subject, 
and the regard due to his hearers, engrossed 
all his concern. Every accent of his voice 
spoke to the ear; every feature of his face, 
every motion of his hands, and every ges¬ 
ture, spoke to the eye; so that the most dis¬ 
sipated and thoughtless found their atten¬ 
tion arrested, and the dullest and most ig¬ 
norant could not but understand. He ap¬ 
peared utterly devoid of the spirit of secta¬ 
rianism; his only object seemed to be to 
“ preach Christ and him crucified.” 

The following anecdote respecting his 
manner of preaching, will serve to illustrate 
this part of his character. One day, while 
preaching from the balcony of the court¬ 
house, in Philadelphia, he cried out, “Fa¬ 
ther Abraham, who have you got in heav¬ 
en ; any Episcopalians /” “ No!” “ Any 


64 


Presbyterians?” “ No!” “ Any Baptists /” 
“ No!” “ Have you any Methodists there ?” 
“No 1” “ Have you any Independents or 
Seceders?” “ No ! No!” “ Why, who 

have you, then?” “ We don’t know those 
names here; all that are here are Chris¬ 
tians —believers in Christ—men who have 
overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and 
the word of his testimony 1” “ O, is this 

the case ? then God help me. God help us 
all to forget party names, and to become 
Christians in deed and in truth.” 

Mr. Whitefield continued his labors to the 
latest period of his life. He was suddenly 
removed from this world to a better, in a fit 
of the asthma, at Newburyport, Mass. Sept. 
30th, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, on 
his seventh visit to America, having been in 
the ministry thirty-four years, during which 
time it is said that he preached upwards of 
eighteen thousand sermons. 

“ Warm, frequent, and successfully he preach’d, 
While crowding thousands piously improv’d ; 

His powerful voice to distant regions reach’d, 

Two worlds attentive heard, admir’d and lov’d. 






WHITIEFIE1LB • 

fneacTiing to a Congregation assembled m t7ie tie Ids 















































































65 


Great Britain , Ireland , and America, 

This* apostolic preacher press’d to hear; 

Sinners of every sort, the grave, the gay, 

Felt his reproofs, andlearn’d their God to fear. 

His constant theme was Jesus and his grace, 

Fir’d with this subject, how his periods flow’d 1 
Celestial radiance shone upon his face 
And in his heart divine affection glow’d. 

•0 

The sacred influence so plenteous pour’d 
On humbled sinners, fell with mighty, power : 
Converted thousands felt the quickening word, 
Bow’d to the grace, and bless’d the happy hour. 

Terror, and soft compassion, mutual join’d, 

To stop the sinner in his mad career ; 

Zion, and thundering Sinai, he combined, 

To draw with gentleness, or urge with fear. 

Nor did poor fainting souls attend in vain, 

Rich gospel cordials dropped from his tongue ; 

The wounded conscience lost its dreadful pain, 

And sorrow’s plaint was changed to rapture’s song. 

Whitef eld is dead.—Not so his deathless fame ; 
Nor time, nor calumny shall that impair; 

Immortal excellence adorns his name, 

Immortal fruits his pious labors bear. 

Among the thousands of God's Israel, 

Most precious shall thy dear remembrance be, 

7 


66 


Religious fathers to their children tell 

The mighty work God brought to pass by thee. 

The annals of the churches shall record 
With what amazing power the spirit came; 

And while they give all glory to the Lord , 

Shall well remember Whitefield's honor’d name.” 


16. Revival of Religion in New Eng¬ 
land. 

About the year 1740, there was a general 
attention to the subject of religion through¬ 
out most of the New England states. This 
time, is generally called, to this day, “ the 
time of the Great Revival .” A general re¬ 
formation and deep seriousness pervaded 
the various ranks of society. The follow¬ 
ing account is taken from the Rev. Jona¬ 
than Edwards’s treatise concerning “ the 
Revival of Religion in New England.” 

“ There has been of late a very uncom¬ 
mon influence upon the minds of a very 
great part of the inhabitants of New Eng¬ 
land, from one end of the land to the other, 
that has been attended with the following 
effects, viz. a great increase of a spirit of 



67 


seriousness, and sober consideration of the 
things of the eternal world ; a disposition to 
hearken to any thing that is said of things of 
this nature, with attention and affection ; a 
disposition to treat matters of religion with 
solemnity, and as matters of great impor¬ 
tance ; a disposition to make these things 
the subject of conversation; and a great 
disposition to hear the word of God preach¬ 
ed, and to take all opportunities in order to 
do it; and to attend on the public worship 
of God, and all external duties of religion in 
a more solemn and decent manner; so that 
there is a remarkable and general altera¬ 
tion in the face of New England in these 
respects: Multitudes in all parts of the land, 
of vain, thoughtless, regardless persons, are 
quite changed, and become serious and con¬ 
siderate : There is a vast increase of con¬ 
cern for the salvation of the precious soul, 
and of that inquiry, What shall Ido to he 
saved ? The hearts of multitudes have been 
greatly taken off from the things of the 
world, its profits, pleasures and honors; 
and there has been a great increase of sen- 



sibleness and tenderness of conscience: Mul¬ 
titudes in all parts have had their conscien¬ 
ces awakened, and have been made sensi¬ 
ble of the pernicious nature and consequen¬ 
ces of sin, and what a dreadful thing it is to 
lie under guilt and the displeasure of God, 
and to live without peace and reconciliation 
with him : They have also been awakened 
to a sense of the shortness and uncertainty 
of life, and the reality of another world and 
future judgment, and of the necessity of an 
interest in Christ: They are more afraid of 
sin, more careful and inquisitive that they 
may know what is contrary to the mind 
and will of God, that they may avoid it, and 
what he requires of them that they may do 
it; more careful to guard against tempta¬ 
tions, more watchful over their own hearts, 
earnestly desirous of being informed what 
are the means that God has directed to, for 
their salvation, and diligent in the use of the 
means that God has appointed in his word, 
in order to it. Many very stupid, senseless 
sinners, and persons of a vain mind, have 
been greatly awakened. There is a strange 


69 


alteration almost all over New England 
amongst young people : By a powerful, in¬ 
visible influence on their minds, they have 
been brought to forsake those things in a 
general way, as it were at once, that they 
were extremely fond of, and greatly addict¬ 
ed to, and that they seemed to place the 
happiness of their lives in, and that nothing 
before could induce them to forsake; as 
their frolicking, vain company keeping, 
night walking, their mirth and jollity, their 
impure language, and lewd songs : In vain 
did ministers preach against those things 
before, and in vain were laws made to re¬ 
strain them, and in vain was all the vigilance 
of magistrates and civil officers ; but now 
they have almost every where dropped 
them as it were of themselves. And there 
is a great alteration amongst old and young 
as to drinking, tavern haunting, profane 
speaking, and extravagance in apparel. 
Many notoriously vicious persons have been 
reformed, and become externally quite new 
oreatures : Some that are wealthy, and of 
a fashionable, gay education; some great 


7 * 


70 


beaus and fine ladies, that seemed to have 
their minds swallowed up with nothing but 
the vain shews and pleasures of the world, 
hqve been wonderfully altered, and have 
relinquished these vanities, and are become 
serious, mortified and humble in their con¬ 
versation. It is astonishing to see the alter¬ 
ation that is in some towns, where before 
was but little appearance of religion, or any 
thing but vice and vanity: And so remote 
was all that was to be seen or heard amongst 
them from any thing that savored of vital 
piety or serious religion, or that had any 
relation to it, that one would have thought, 
if they had judged only by what appeared 
in them, that they had been some other spe¬ 
cies from the serious and religious, which 
had no concern with another world, and 
whose natures were not made capable of 
those things that appertain to Christian ex¬ 
perience, and pious conversation ; especial¬ 
ly was it thus among young persons: And 
now they are transformed into another sort 
of people; their former vain, worldly and. 
vicious conversation and dispositions seem 


71 


to be forsaken, and they are as it were, 
gone over to a new world: Their thoughts, 
and their talk, and their concern, affections, 
and inquiries, are now about the favor of 
God, an interest in Christ, a renewed sanc¬ 
tified heart, and a spiritual blessedness, and 
acceptance and happiness in a future world. 
And through the greater part of New Eng¬ 
land, the Holy Bible is in much greater es¬ 
teem and use than it used to be ; the great 
things that are contained in it are much 
more regarded, as things of the greatest 
consequence, and are much more the sub¬ 
jects of meditation and conversation ; and 
other books of piety that have long been of 
established reputation, as the most excel¬ 
lent, and most tending to promote true god¬ 
liness, have been abundantly more in use: 
The Lord’s day is more religiously and 
strictly observed: And abundance has been 
lately done at making up differences, and 
confessing faults one to another, and making 
restitution; probably more within these two 
years, than was done in thirty years before: 
It has been so undoubtedly in many places. 


72 


And surprising has been the power of that 
spirit that has been poured out upon the 
land, in many instances, to destroy old 
grudges, and make up long continued 
breaches, and to bring those that seemed to 
be in a confirmed irreconcileable alienation, 
to embrace each other in a sincere and en¬ 
tire amity. 

Great numbers under this influence have 
been brought to a deep sense of their own 
sinfulness and vileness; the sinfulness of 
their lives, the heinousness of their disregard 
of the authority of the great God, and the 
heinousness of their living in contempt of a 
Savior: They have lamented their former 
negligence of their souls, and neglecting and 
losing precious time. Their sins of life 
have been extraordinarily set before them; 
and they have also had a great sense of 
their sins of heart; their hardness of heart, 
and enmity against that which is good, and 
proneness to all evil; and also of the worth¬ 
lessness of their own religious performances, 
how unworthy their prayers, praises, and 
all that they did in religion, was to be re- 


73 


garded of God: And it has been a common 
thing that persons have had such a sense 
of their own sinfulness, that they have 
thought themselves to be the worst of all, 
and that none ever was so vile as they: 
And many seem to have been greatly con¬ 
vinced that they were utterly unworthy of 
any mercy at the hands of God, however 
miserable they were, and though they stood 
in extreme necessity of mercy; and that 
they deserved nothing but eternal burnings: 
And have been sensible that God would be 
altogether just and righteous in inflicting 
endless damnation upon them, at the same 
time they have had an exceeding affecting 
sense of the dreadfulness of such endless 
torments, and have apprehended themselves 
to be greatly in danger of them. And ma¬ 
ny have been deeply affected with a sense 
of their own ignorance and blindness, and 
exceeding helplessness, and so of their ex~ 
treme need of the divine pity and help. 
And so far as we are worthy to be credited 
one by another, in what we say, (and per¬ 
sons of good understanding and sound mind, 


74 


and known and experienced probity, have a 
right to be believed by their neighbors, when 
they speak of things that fall under their ob¬ 
servation and experience) multitudes in 
New England have lately been brought to 
a new and great conviction of the truth and 
certainty of the things of the gospel; to a 
firm persuasion that Christ Jesus is the son 
of God, and the great and only Savior of the 
world ; and that the great doctrines of the 
gospel touching reconciliation by his blood, 
and acceptance in his righteousness, and 
eternal life and salvation through him, are 
matters of undoubted truth; together with 
a most affecting sense of the excellency and 
sufficiency of this Savior, and the glorious 
wisdom and grace of God shining in this 
way of salvation; and of the wonders of 
Christ’s dying love, and the sincerity of 
Christ in the invitations of the gospel, and a 
consequent affiance and sweet rest of soul 
in Christ, as a glorious Savior, a strong 
rock and high tower, accompanied with an 
admiring and exalting apprehension of the 
glory of the divine perfections, God’s majes^ 


75 


ty, holiness, sovereign grace, &c. with a 
sensible, strong and sweet love to God, and 
delight in him, far surpassing all temporal 
delights, or earthly pleasures; and a rest of 
soul in him as a portion and the fountain of 
all good, attended with an abhorrence of 
sin, and self-loathing for it, and earnest long¬ 
ings of soul after more holiness and con¬ 
formity to God, with a sense of the great 
need of God’s help in order to holiness of 
life ; together with a most dear love to all 
that are supposed to be the children of God, 
and a love to mankind in general, and a 
most sensible and tender compassion for the 
souls of sinners, and earnest desires of the 
advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the 
world. And these things have appeared to 
be in many of them abiding, now for many 
months, yea, more than a year and a half; 
with an abiding concern to live an holy life, 
and great complaints of remaining corrup¬ 
tion, longing to be more free from the body 
of sin and death. And not only do these 
effects appear in new converts, but great 
numbers of those who were formerly es- 


76 


teemed the most sober and pious people, 
have, under the influence of this work, been 
greatly quickened, and their hearts renewed 
with greater degrees of light, renewed re¬ 
pentance and humiliation, and more lively 
exercises of faith, love and joy in the Lord. 
Many, as I am well knowing, have of late 
been remarkably engaged to watch, and 
strive, and fight against sin, and cast out 
every idol, and sell all for Christ, and give 
up themselves entirely to God, and make 
a sacrifice of every worldly and carnal thing 
to the welfare and prosperity of their souls. 
And there has of late appeared in some pla¬ 
ces an unusual disposition to bind them¬ 
selves to it in a solemn covenant with God. 
And now instead of meetings at taverns and 
drinking house#, and meetings of young peo¬ 
ple in frolics and vain company, the coun¬ 
try is full of meetings of all sorts and ages 
of persons, young and old, men, women and 
little children, to read and pray, and sing 
praises, and to converse of the things of 
God and another world. In very many pla¬ 
ces the main of the conversation in all com- 

































m 


















. .' 

* • . ' 













































v 










- •/ 






















































































V. '• 
































. • 


















































































SMJGWG- PROCESSION 
ekuma the threat .Revival, about the year I74i9 



PRATER k CONFERENCE lEETWft 






















































77 


panies turns on religion, and things of a 
spiritual nature. Instead of vain mirth 
amongst young people, there is now either 
mourning under a sense of the guilt of sin, 
or holy rejoicing in Christ Jesus; and in¬ 
stead of their lewd songs, are now to be 
heard from them, songs of praise to God, 
and the Lamb that was slain to redeem 
them by his blood. And there has been this 
alteration abiding on multitudes all over the 
land, for a year and a half, without any ap¬ 
pearance of a disposition to return to for¬ 
mer vice and vanity. And under the influ¬ 
ences of this work, there have been many 
of the remains of those wretched people and 
dregs of mankind, the poor Indians, that 
seemed to be next to a state of brutality, 
and with whom, till now, it seemed to be to 
little more purpose to use endeavors for 
their instruction and awakening, than with 
the beasts; whose minds have now been 
strangely opened to receive instruction, and 
have beten deeply affected with the concerns 
of their precious souls, and have reformed 
their lives, and forsaken their former stupid, 
8 


78 


barbarous and brutish way of living; and 
particularly that sin to which they have 
been so exceedingly addicted, their drunk¬ 
enness ; and are become devout and serious 
persons; and many of them to appearance 
brought truly and greatly to delight in the 
things of God, and to have their souls very 
much engaged and entertained with the 
great things of the gospel. And many of 
the poor negroes also have been in like man¬ 
ner wrought upon and changed. And the 
souls of very many little children have been 
remarkably enlightened, and their hearts 
wonderfully affected and enlarged, and their 
mouths opened, expressing themselves in a 
manner far beyond their years, and to the 
just astonishment of those that have heard 
them; and some of them from time to time, 
for many months, greatly and delightfully 
affected with the glory of divine things, and 
the excellency and love of the Redeemer, 
with their hearts greatly filled with love to, 
and joy in him, and have continued to be 
serious and pious in their behavior. 


79 


The engraving for this scene represents a company of 
persons walking in procession and singing the praises of 
God, as they are going to the place of public worship. 
Singing in companies , in going and returning from the 
house of God, was a common practice in many congre¬ 
gations, during the time of the revival,—in literal accord¬ 
ance with the 100th Psalm,— 

“ Enter his gates with songs of joy; 

With praises to his courts repair ; 

And make it your divine employ 

To pay your vows and honors there.” 


17. Prayer and Conference Meeting. 

From the Christian Watchman. 

It is delightful, after the labors of the day 
are closed, to assemble with the people who 
collect in our country villages, for the pur¬ 
pose of spending an hour in prayer. It is 
attended with no noise. One individual af¬ 
ter another enters and falls silently into his 
place, till a sufficient number are collected 
to begin the exercises. Silent greetings 
are exchanged, and a few words by way of 
encouragement and consolation are whis¬ 
pered from one to another. The Bible and 
the hymn-book are brought forward, and 
all reverently compose themselves for the 



80 


duties of the meeting. The good man se¬ 
lects a portion of Holy Writ, and “ with 
solemn air” commences the worship of God. 
A hymn is read, and the little band lift up 
their voices in their Creator’s praise. The 
prayer follows—exhortations succeed, and 
we may believe that the blessings of Heav¬ 
en often descend “as the dew upon the 
mountains of Zion” to refresh the heart of 
the humble believer. Good it is for Chris¬ 
tians “to speak often one to another”— 
pleasant to feel that the presence of Christ 
is vouchsafed to grace such unostentatious 
meetings—and more than all, the Christian 
disciple comes out from such places, better 
prepared to resist temptation—strengthen¬ 
ed for the conflicts which await him—and 
looking up with a holier confidence to the 
world of unclouded light and blessedness. 

The eye of the uninterested spectator 
sees nothing in all this to admire. He finds 
religion without her pomp, and turns aside 
and passes on. The scoffer, indeed, honors 
them now and then with a malignant sneer, 
and the better disposed call it the effects of 


81 


a harmless delusion. But far the greater 
part are ignorant, or forget, that there are 
any who turn aside to think and pray for a 
careless 

world, who thinks not on herself. 

Those who join in the scenes of worldly 
amusement, where, amidst the bursts of the 
music and the revelry, God is forgotten, 
look upon the joys of the humble Christian 
as insipid and dull. They think there is 
nothing of life in them. True, there is no 
note of preparation—there is no assemblage 
of beauty and fashion—there is no spirit- 
stirring music—no halls lighted up, and 
decked with the blandishments of art, by 
which pleasure lures giddy and unthinking 
votaries. But there is often found the “ mu¬ 
sic of a thankful heart.” The assembling 
speaks of a preparation as august as the as¬ 
sembling of all this world’s generations. 
The prayer which is breathed forth, asks 
for pardon and forgiveness, and sends up 
its aspiration to be admitted into the “ com¬ 
pany of the just made perfect.” The hymn 


8 * 


82 


which is sung, tells of joys, pure unearthly 
joys; beauty, undecaying beauty; and of 
bowers and streams, even the bowers and 
streams of paradise. I have seen the world, 
and mixed with its companies, and have ev¬ 
er gone away disappointed. I have joined 
in the mirth and noise of dissipation, and 
have found that “ in laughter the heart is 
sad.” I have entered the garden of pleas¬ 
ure, and revelled for a while on its sweets! 
yet, alas! I have ever found the thorn of re¬ 
morse lodged under its fairest flowers. But 
I have taken sweet counsel, and gone 
where two or three were met in the name 
of Christ, and have there found a “ peace 
which passeth all understanding.” CLIO. 

Blest be the tie that binds 

Our hearts in Christian love ; ' •’ 

The fellowship of kindred minds, 

Is like to that above. 

Before our Father’s throne 
We pour our ardent pray’rs; 

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, 

Our comforts and our cares. 









I 





* 7 •# 

? 

■ i 



































































•« 















■ 













































18 



DEPARTURE of tike MISSIONARIES 
from M-wHaven {bn. /or the SajidwicA Islands 232 2 



A View* of rJLTMOFTlklSM 


19 

























83 


We share our mutual woes; 

Our mutual burdens bear; 

And often for each other flows 
The sympathizing tear. 

When we asunder part, 

It gives us inward pain; 

But we shall still be join’d in heart, 
And hope to meet again. 

This glorious hope revives 
Our courage by the way; 

While each in expectation lives, 

And longs to see the day. 

From sorrow, toil and pain, 

And sin, we shall be free; 

And perfect love and friendship reign 
Through all eternity. 


18. Departure of the Missionaries 
from New Haven, for the Sandwich 
•Islands. 

The Sandwich Islands are situated in the 
North Pacific Ocean. They are eleven in 
number; containing, according to the esti¬ 
mation of the Missionaries, about 150,000 



84 


inhabitants. The American Board of For¬ 
eign Missions, in October 1819, sent three 
Missionaries, and four native youths, who 
had been educated as teachers, at Corn¬ 
wall, Conn, to establish a mission on these 
Islands; where they arrived in March, 1820. 
They found the encouragement so great 
that they sent to the Board for more labor¬ 
ers. Accordingly, five missionaries, with 
their families, embarked at New Haven, 
Nov. 19th, 1822, and arrived at the Sand¬ 
wich Islands April 27th, 1823. At the time 
of their embarkation, a great multitude of 
people assembled in front of Tomlinson’s 
wharf, where, with other appropriate reli¬ 
gious exercises, the following hymn was 
sung. It was a most sublime, solemn, and 
affecting scene. The words were sung 
with admirable effect, and responded by the 
prayers and tears of thousands. 

Wake, Isles of the South! your redemption is near, 

No longer repose in the borders of gloom; 

The strength of His chosen in love will appear, 

And light shall arise on the verge of the tomb. 

Alleluia to the Lamb who hath purchased our pardon; 


85 




We will praise him again when we pass over Jordan 
We will praise him, &c. 

The billows that girt ye, the wild waves that roar, 

The zephyrs that play where the ocean-storms cease, 
Shall bear the rich freight to your desolate shore, 

Shall waft the glad tidings of pardon and peace. 
Alleluia, &c. 

On the islands that sit in the regions of night, 

The lands of despair, to oblivion a prey, 

The morning tvill open with healing and light; 

The young star of Bethlehem will ripen to day. 
Alleluia, &c. 

The altar and idol in dust overthrown, 

The incense forbade that was hallowed in blood; 

The Priest of Melchisedec there shall atone, 

And the shrines of Atooi be sacred to God! 

Alleluia, &c. 

The heathen will hasten to welcome the time, 

The day-spring, the prophet in vision once saw— 
When the beams of Messiah will ’lumine each clime, 
And the Isles of the Ocean shall wait for his law. 
Alleluia, &c. 

/ 

And thou OBOOKIAH! now sainted above, 

Wilt rejoice, as the heralds their mission disclose; 

And the prayer will be heard, that the land thou didst love. 
May blossom as Sharon, and bud as the rose ! 

Alleluia, &c. 


86 


19. Anniversary of the Landing of 
the Fathers at Plymouth. 

The 22d of December is celebrated at 
Plymouth, Mass, as a religious festival, to 
commemorate the landing of the pilgrim fa¬ 
thers at that place, on the 22d of December 
1620. On these occasions, a discourse is 
delivered, celebrating the virtues and suffer¬ 
ings of their pious fathers. After public 
worship, they partake of a very plain and 
scanty repast, in order more forcibly to 
bring to mind the circumstances of their 
forefathers. This anniversary has been cel¬ 
ebrated in a number of instances by the des¬ 
cendants of the pilgrims in various places in 
the United States. “ It is a festival, ration¬ 
al and happy in its tendency. It reminds 
the guests of the virtues and sufferings of 
their fathers; by a’comparison of circum¬ 
stances, it excites transports of gratitude, 
elevates the affections, and mends the heart. 1 ' 


87 


THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

Written by Mr. Pierpont, in 1824. 

The pilgrim fathers—where are they ? 

The waves that brought them o’er 
Still roll in the bay, and throw their spray 
As they break along the shore : 

Still roll in the bay, as they rolled that day 
When the May Flower moored below, 

When the sea around was black with storms, 

And white the shore with snow. 

% 

The mists that wrapped the pilgrim’s sleep 
Still brood upon the tide ; 

And his rocks yet keep their watch by the deep, 
To stay its waves of pride. 

But the snow-white sail, that he gave to the gale T 
When the heaven’s looked dark, is gone ;— 

As an angel’s wing through an opening cloud, 

Is seen, and then withdrawn. 

The pilgrim exile—sainted name !— 

The hill whose icy brow 
Rejoiced, when he came, in the morning’s flame, 
In the morning’s flame burns now ; 

And the moon’s cold light, as it lay that night 
On the hill side and the sea, 

Still lies where he laid his houseless head ;— 

But the pilgrim—where is he 7 


88 


The pilgrim fathers are at rest: 

When summer’s throned on high, 

And the world’s warm breast, is in verdure dressed; 

Go, stand on the hill where they lie. 

The earliest ray of the golden day 
On that hallowed spot is cast; 

And the evening sun, as he leaves the world, 
Looks kindly on that spot last. 

The pilgrim spirit has not fled : 

It walks in noon’s broad light; 

And it watches the bed of the glorious dead, 

With the holy stars, by night. 

It watches the bed of the brhve who have bled, 

And shall guard this ice-bound shore, 

’Till the waves of the bay, where the May-Flower lay 
Shall foam and freeze no more. 


APPENDIX. 


The following account of the first settlement of New 
England is taken from Mather’s Magnalia, published in 
London in 1702. The mode of spelling in use at that 
period is retained. 

“ The English Church had not been very long at Ley¬ 
den before they found themselves encountred with many 
inconveniencies. They felt that they were neither for 
health, nor purse, nor language well accommodated ; but 
the concern which they most of all had, was for their 
posterity. They saw, that whatever banks the Dutch 
had against the inroads of the sea, they had not suffi¬ 
cient ones against a flood of manifold profaneness. 
They could not with ten years endeavour bring their 
neighbours, particularly to any suitable observation of 
the Lord’s day ; without which they knew, that all prac¬ 
tical religion must wither miserably. They beheld some 
of their children , by the temptations of the place, which 
were especially given in the licentious ways of many 
young people, drawn into dangerous extravagancies. 
Moreover, they were very loth to lose their interest in 
the English Nation ; but were desirous rather to enlarge 
their King’s dominions. They found themselves also 
under a very strong disposition of zeal, to attempt the 
establishment of Congregational Churches in the remote 


9 



90 


parts of the world; where they hoped they should be 
reached by the Royal influence of their prince, in whose 
allegience they chose to live and die; at the same time 
likewise hoping that the ecclesiasticks, who had thus 
driven them out of the Kingdom into a New World, 
for nothing in the world but their non-conformity to 
certain rites, by the imposers confessed indifferent, 
would be ashamed ever to persecute them with any fur¬ 
ther molestations, at the distance of a thousand leagues. 
These reasons were deeply considered by the Church ; 
and after many deliberations, accompanied with the 
most solemn humiliations and supplications before the 
God of Heaven, they took up a resolution, under the 
conduct of Heaven, to remove into America; the opened 
regions whereof had now filled all Europe with reports. 
It was resolved that part of the church should go before 
their brethren, to prepare a place for the rest; and 
whereas the minor part of younger and stronger men 
were to go first, the Pastor was to stay with the major, 
till they should see cause to follow. Nor was there any 
occasion for this resolve, in any weariness which the 
states of Holland had of their company, as was basely 
whispered by their adversaries; therein like those who 
of old assign’d the same cause for the departure of the 
Israelites out of Egypt: for the magistrates of Leyden 
in their court, reproving the Walloons, gave this testi¬ 
mony for our English; these English have lived now 
ten years among us, and yet we never had any accusa¬ 
tion against any one of them; whereas your quarrels 
are continued. 


91 


These good people were now satisfy’d, they had as 
plain a command of Heaven to attempt a removal, as 
ever their father Abraham had for his leaving the Cal- 
dean territories ; and it was nothing but such a satisfac¬ 
tion that could have carried them thro’ such, otherwise 
insuperable difficulties, as they met withal, Rut in this 
removal the Terminus ad Quern was not yet resolved 
upon. The country of Guiana flattered them with the 
promises of a perpetual spring, and a thousand other 
comfortable entertainments. But the probable disagree¬ 
ment of so torrid a climate unto English bodies, and 
the more dangerous vicinity of the Spaniards to that 
climate; were considerations which made them fear 
that country would be too hot for them. They rather 
propounded some country bordering upon Virginia, and 
unto this purpose, they sent over agents into England, 
who so far treated not only with the Virginia Company, 
but with several great persons about the Court; unto 
whom they made evident their agreement with the 
French reformed churches in all things whatsoever, ex¬ 
cept in a few small accidental points; that at last, after 
many tedious delays, and after the loss of many friends 
and hopes in those delays, they obtained a patent for a 
quiet settlement in those territories ; and the archbishop 
of Canterbury himself gave them some expectations 
that they should never be disturbed in that exercise of 
religion, at which they aimed in their settlement; yea, 
when Sir Robert Nanton, then principal Secretary of 
State unto king James, moved his Majesty to give way, 
that such a people might enjoy their liberty of con- 


92 


science under his gracious protection in America, where 
they would endeavour the advancement of his Majesty’s 
dominions, and the enlargement of the interests of the 
Gospel; the king said, it was a good and honest motion. 
All this notwithstanding, they never made use of that 
patent: but being informed of New England, thither 
they diverted their design, thereto induced by sundry 
reasons, but particularly by this, that the coast being ex- 
tremely well circumstanced for fishing, they might 
therein have some assistence against the hardships of 
their first encounters. Their agents then again sent 
over to England, concluded articles, between them and 
such adventurers, as would be concerned with them 
in their present undertakings. Articles, that were in¬ 
deed sufficiently hard for these poor men, that were 
now to transplant themselves into an horrid wilderness. 
The diversion of their enterprize from the first state 
and way of it, caus’d an unhappy division among those 
that should have encourag’d it; and many of them here¬ 
upon fell off. But the removers having already sold 
their estates, to put the money into a common stock, 
for the welfare of the whole; and their stock as well as 
their time, spending so fast as to threaten them with 
an army of straits, if they delayed any longer; they 
nimbly dispatcht the best agreements they could, and 
came away furnished with a resolution for a large tract 
of land in the south west parts of New England. 

All things now being in some readiness, and a couple 
of ships, one called, the Speedwell, t’other, the May¬ 
flower, being hired for their transportation, they solemn- 


93 


ly set apart a day for fasting and prayer; wherein their 
Pastor preached unto them upon Ezra 8. 21. I proclaim- 
ed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might afflict 
ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way 
for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. 

After the fervent supplications of this day, accompa¬ 
nied by their affectionate friends, they took their leave 
of the pleasant city, where they had been pilgrims and 
strangers now for eleven years. Delft-Haven was the 
town, w’here they went on board one of their ships, and 
there they had such a mournful parting from their breth¬ 
ren, as even drowned the Dutch spectators themselves, 
then standing on the shore, in tears. Their excellent 
pastor, on his knees, by the sea-side, poured out their 
mutual petitions unto God; and having wept in one 
another’s arms, as long as the wind and the tide would 
permit them, they bad adieu. So sailing to Southamp¬ 
ton in England, they there found the other of their 
ships come from London, with the rest of their friends 
that were to be the companions of the voyage. Let my 
reader place the chronology of this business on July 2, 
1620. And know, that the faithful pastor of this peo¬ 
ple immediately sent after them a pastoral letter; a letter 
filled with holy counsels unto them, to settle their peace 
with God in their own consciences, by an exact repent¬ 
ance of all sin whatsoever, that so they might more ea¬ 
sily bear all the difficulties that were now before them ; 
and then to maintain a good peace with one another, 
and beware of giving or taking offences ; and avoid all 
discoveries of a touchy humour; but use much brotherly 


9 * 


94 


forbearance, (where by the way he had this remarkable 
observation, in my own experience few or none have 
been found that sooner give offence, than those that ea¬ 
sily take it; neither have they ever proved sound and 
profitable members of societies, who have nourished 
this touchy humour;) as also to take heed of a private 
spirit, and all retiredness of mind in each man, for his 
own proper advantage ; and likewise to be careful, that 
the house of God, which they were, might not be sha¬ 
ken with unnecessary novelties or oppositions : which 
letter afterwards produced most happy fruits among 
them. 

On August 5th, 1620, they set sail from Southamp¬ 
ton ; but if it shall, as I believe it will, afflict my reader 
to be told what heart-breaking disasters befel them, in 
the very beginning of their undertaking, let him glorifie 
God, who carried them so well through their greater 
affliction. 

They were by bad weather twice beaten back, before 
they came to the land’s end: but it was judged, that the 
badness of the weather did not retard them so much as 
the deceit of a master, who grown sick of the voyage, 
made such pretences about the leakiness of his vessel, 
that they were forced at last wholly to dismiss that les¬ 
ser ship from their service. Being now all stowed into 
one ship, on the sixth of September they put to sea; but 
they met with such terrible storms, that the principal 
persons on board had serious deliberations upon return¬ 
ing home again ; however, after long beating upon the 
Atlantick ocean, they fell in with the land at Cape-Cod, 


95 


about the ninth of November following, where going on 
shore they fell upon their knees, with many and hearty 
praises unto God, who had been their assurance, when 
they were afar off upon the sea, and was to be further 
so, now that they were come to the ends of the earth. 

But why at this cape ? here was not the port which 
they intended ; this was not the land for which they had 
provided. There was indeed a most wonderful Provi¬ 
dence of God, over a pious and a praying people, in this 
disappointment! The most crooked way that ever was 
gone, even that of Israel’s peregrination thro’ the wil¬ 
derness, may be called a right way, such was the way 
of this little Israel, now going into a wilderness. 

Their design was to have sat down somewhere about 
Hudson’s river ; but some of their neighbours in Holland 
having a mind themselves to settle a plantation there, 
secretly and sinfully contracted with the master of the 
ship, employed for the transportation of these our Eng¬ 
lish exiles, by a more northerly course, to put a trick up¬ 
on them. ’Twas in the pursuance of this plot, that not 
only the goods, but also the lives of all on board were 
now hazarded, by the ships falling among the shoals of 
Cape-cod: where they were so entangled among dan¬ 
gerous breakers, thus late in the year, that the company 
got at last into the cape-harbour, broke off their inten¬ 
tions of going any further. And yet behold the watch¬ 
ful providence of God over them that seek him! this 
false-dealing proved a safe-dealing for the good people 
against whom it was used. Had they been carried ac¬ 
cording to their desire unto Hudson’s river, the Indians 


96 


in those parts were at this time so many, and so mighty, 
and so sturdy, that in probability all this little feeble 
number of Christians had been massacred by these 
bloody salvages, as not long after some others were: 
whereas the good hand of God now brought them to a 
country wonderfully prepared for their entertainment, 
by a sweeping mortality that had lately been among the 
natives. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fa- 
thers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, 
in the times of old; how thou dravest out the heathen 
with thy hand, and planted’st them ; how thou did’st af¬ 
flict the people, and cast them out! The Indians in 
these pajts had newly, even about a year or two before, 
been visited with such a prodigious pestilence ; as carri¬ 
ed away not a tenth, but nine parts of ten, (yea ’tis said, 
nineteen of twenty) among them: so that the woods 
were almost cleared of those pernicious creatures, to 
make room for a better growth. It is remarkable, that 
a Frenchman who not long before these transactions, 
had by a shipwreck been made a captive among the In¬ 
dians of this country, did, as the survivers reported, just 
before he dy’d in their hands, tell those tawny pagans, 
that God being angry with them for their wickedness, 
would not only destroy them all, but also people the 
place with another nation, which would not live after 
their brutish manners. Those infidels then blasphe¬ 
mously reply’d, God could not kill them, which blasphe¬ 
mous mistake was confuted by an horrible and unusual 
plague, whereby they were consumed in such vast mul¬ 
titudes, that our first planters found the land almost cov- 


97 


ered with their unburied carcases ; and they that were 
left alive, were smitten into awful and humble regards 
of the English, by the terrors which the remembrance 
of the Frenchman’s prophesie had imprinted on them. 

Inexpressible the hardships to which this chosen gen- 
eration was now exposed! our Saviour once directed 
his disciples to deprecate a flight in the winter; but these 
disciples of our Lord were now arrived at a very cold 
country, in the beginning of a rough and bleak winter ; 
the sun was withdrawn into saggitarius, whence he shot 
the penetrating arrows of cold; feathered with nothing 
but snow, and pointed with hail; and the days left them 
to behold the frost-bitten and weather-beaten face of the 
earth, were grown shorter than the nights, wherein they 
had yet more trouble to get shelter from the- increasing 
injuries of the frost and weather. It was a relief to 
those primitive believers, who were cast on shore at 
Malta, that the barbarous people show’d them no little 
kindness, because of the present rain, and because of 
the cold. But these believers in our primitive times, 
were more afraid of the barbarous people among whom 
they were now cast, than they were of the rain, or cold: 
these barbarians were at the first so far from accommo¬ 
dating them with bundles of sticks, to warm them, that 
they let fly other sorts of sticks (that is to say, arrows) 
to wound them : and the very looks and thouts of those 
grim salvages, had not much less of terrour in them, 
than if they had been so many devils. It is not long 
since I compared this remove of our fathers, to that of 
Abraham, whereas I must now add, that if our father 


98 


Abraham, called out of Ur, had been directed unto the 
desarts of Arabia, instead of the land flowing with milk 
and honey, the trial of his faith had been greater than 
it was; but such w T as the trial of the faith in these holy 
men, who followed the call of God into desarts full of 
dismal circumstances. All this they chearfully under- 
went, in hope, that they should settle the worship and 
order of the gospel, and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus 
Christ in these regions, and that thus enlarging the do¬ 
minion, they should thereby so merit the protection of 
the crown of England, as to be never abandoned unto 
any further persecutions, from any party of their fellow 
subjects, for their consciencious regards unto the Ref¬ 
ormation. 

Exiguam sedem Sacris, Littusque rogamus , 

Innocuum , cj* cunctis undamq; auramq ; Patentem . 

Finding at their arrival, that what other powers they 
had, were made useless by the undesigned place of their 
arrival; they did as the light of Nature itself directed 
them, immediately in the harbour, sign an instrument, 
as a foundation of their future and needful government; 
wherein declaring themselves the loyal subjects of the 
crown of England, they did combine into a body poli¬ 
tick, and solemnly engage submission and obedience to 
the laws, ordinances, acts, oonstitutions, and officers, 
that from time to time should be thought most conven¬ 
ient for the general good of the colony. This was done 
on Nov. 11th, 1620, and they chose one Mr. John Car¬ 
ver, a pious and prudent man, their Governour. 

Hereupon they sent ashore to look a convenient seat 


99 


for their intended habitation : and while the carpenter 
was fitting of their shallop, sixteen men tender’d them¬ 
selves, to go, by land, on the discovery. Accordingly 
on Nov. 16th, 1620, they made a dangerous adventure; 
following five Indians, whom they spied flying before 
them, into the woods for many miles ; from whence, af¬ 
ter two or three days ramble, they returned with some 
ears of Indian corn, which were an eschol for their com¬ 
pany ; but with a poor and small encouragement, as un¬ 
to any scituation. When the shallop was fitted, about 
thirty more went in it upon a further discovery; who 
prospered little more, than only to find a little Indian 
corn, and bring to the company some occasions of 
doubtful debate, whether they should here fix their 
stakes. Yet these expeditions on discovery had this 
one remarkable smile of heaven upon them ; that being 
made before the snow covered the ground, they met 
with some Indian corn ; for which, ’twas their purpose 
honestly to pay the natives on demand; and this corn 
served them for seed in the spring following, which 
else they had not been seasonably furnished withal. So 
that it proved, in effect, their deliverance from the ter¬ 
rible famine. 

The month of November being spent in many suppli¬ 
cations to Almighty God, and consultations one with 
another, about the direction of their course; at last, on 
Dec. 6. 1620, they manned the shallop with about eigh¬ 
teen or twenty hands, and went out upon a third discov¬ 
ery. So bitterly cold was the season, that the spray o f 

the sea lighting on their cloaths, glazed them with an 

■ 


100 


immediate congelation; yet they kept cruising about 
the bay of Cape-Cod, and that night they got safe down 
the bottom of the bay. There they landed, and there 
they tarried that night; and unsuccessfully ranging 
about all the next day, at night they made a little barri- 
cado of boughs and logs, wherein the most weary slept. 
The next morning after prayers, they suddenly were sur¬ 
rounded with a crue of Indians, who let fly a show’r of 
arrows among them ; whereat our distressed handful of 
English happily recovering their arms, which they had 
laid by from the moisture of the weather, they vigorous¬ 
ly discharged their muskets upon the salvages, who 
astonished at the strange effects of such dead-doing 
things, as powder and shot, fled apace into the woods; 
but not one of ours was wounded by the Indian arrows 
that flew like hail about their ears, and pierced through 
sundry of their coats : for which they returned their sol¬ 
emn thanks unto God their Saviour; and they call’d the 
place by the name of, the First Encounter. From hence 
they coasted along, till an horrible storm arose, which 
tore their vessel at such a rate, and threw them into the 
midst of such dangerous breakers, it was reckoned little 
short of a miracle that they escaped alive. In the end 
they got under the lee of a small island, where going 
ashore, they kindled fires for their succour against the 
wet and cold; it was the morning before they found it 
was an island, whereupon they rendered their praises to 
him, that hitherto had helped them; and the day follow¬ 
ing, which was, the Lord’s-day, the difficulties now up¬ 
on them, did not hinder them from spending it in the de- 


101 


vout and pious exercises of a sacred rest. On the next 
day they sounded the harbour, and found it fit for ship- 
ping; they visited the main land also, and found it ac¬ 
commodated with pleasant fields and brooks; whereof 
they carried an encouraging report unto their friends 
on board. So they resolved that they would here pitch 
their tents; and sailing up to the town of Plymouth (as 
with an hopeful prolepsis , my reader shall now call it; 
for otherwise, by the Indians ’twas called, Patuxet;) 
on the twenty-fifth day of December they began to erect 
the first house that ever was in that memorable town ; 
an house for the general entertainment of their persons 
and estates : and yet it was not long before an unhappy 
accident burnt unto the ground their house, wherein 
some of their principal persons then lay sick; who were 
forced nimbly to fly out of the fired house, or else they 
had been blown up with the powder then lodged there. 
After this, they soon went upon the building of more 
little cottages; and upon the settling of good laws, for 
the better governing of such as were to inhabit those 
cottages. They then resolved, that until they could be 
further strengthned in their settlement, by the authority 
of England, they would be governed by rulers chosen 
from among themselves, who were to proceed according 
to the laws of England, as near as they could, in the ad¬ 
ministration of their government; and such other by¬ 
laws, as by common consent should be judged necessary 
for the circumstances of the plantation. 

If the reader would know, how these good people 
fared the rest of the melancholy winter; let him know. 


10 


102 


that besides the exercises of religion, with other work 
enough, there was the care of the sick to take up no lit¬ 
tle part of their time. ’Twas a most heavy trial of their 
patience, whereto they were called the first winter of 
this their pilgrimage, and enough to convince them, 
and remind them, that they were but pilgrims. The 
hardships which they encountred, were attended with, 
and productive of deadly sicknesses; which in two or 
three months carried off more than half their company. 
They were but meanly provided against these unhappy 
sicknesses; but there died sometimes two, sometimes 
three in a day; till scarce fifty of them were left alive; 
and of these fifty, sometimes there were scarce five well 
at a time to look after the sick. Yet their profound sub¬ 
mission to the will of God, their Christian readiness to 
help one another, accompanied with a joyful assurance 
of another and better world, carried them chearfully 
thro’ the sorrows of this mortality : nor was there heard 
among them a continual murmur against those who had 
by unreasonable impositions driven them into all these 
distresses. And there was this remarkable providence 
further in the circumstances of this mortality, that if a 
disease had not more easily fetcht so many of this num¬ 
ber away to heaven, a famine would probably have de¬ 
stroy’d them all, before their expected supplies from 
England were arrived. But what a wonder was it that 
all the bloody salvages far and near did not cut off this 
little remnant! if he that once muzzled the lions ready 
to devour the man of desires, had not admirably, I had 
almost said, miraculously restrained them, these had 


103 


been all devoured! but this people of God were come in¬ 
to a wilderness to worship him; and so he kept their 
enemies from such attempts, as would otherwise have 
soon annihilated this poor handful of men, thus far al¬ 
ready diminished. They saw no Indians all the winter 
long, but such as at the first sight always ran away; yea, 
they quickly found, that God had so turned the hearts 
of these barbarians, as more to fear, than to hate his peo¬ 
ple thus cast among them. This blessed people was as 
a little flock of kids, while there were many nations of 
Indians left still as kennels of wolves in every corner of 
the country. And yet the little flock suffered no dam¬ 
age by those rapid wolves ! we may and should say, this 
is the Lord’s doing, ’tis marvellous in our eyes. 

But among the many causes to be assigned for it, one 
was this. It was afterwards by them confessed, that 
upon the arrival of the English in these parts, the In¬ 
dians employ’d their sorcerers, whom they call Powaws, 
like Balaam,’to [curse them, and let loose their demons 
upon them, to shipwreck them, to distract them, to poi¬ 
son them, or any way to ruin them. All the noted 
Powaws in the country spent three days together in di¬ 
abolical conjurations, to obtain the assistances of the 
devils against the settlement of these our English; but 
the devils at length acknowledged unto them, that they 
could not hinder those people from their becoming the 
owners and masters of the country; whereupon the In¬ 
dians resolved upon a good correspondence with our 
new comers; and God convinced them, that there was 
no enchantment or divination against such a people. 


104 


The doleful winter broke up sooner than was usual. 
But our crippled planters were not more comforted with 
the early advance of the spring, than they were sur¬ 
priz’d with the appearance of two Indians, who in bro¬ 
ken English bade them, welcome Englishmen! It 
seems that one of these Indians had been in the eastern 
parts of New England, acquainted with some of the 
English vessels that had been formerly fishing there ; 
but the other of the Indians, and he from whom they 
had most of service, was a person provided by the very 
singular providence of God for that service. A most 
wicked ship-master being on this coast a few years be¬ 
fore, had wickedly spirited away more than twenty In¬ 
dians ; whom having enticed them aboard, he perfectly 
stowed them under hatches, and carried them away to 
the streights, where he sold as many of them as he could 
for slaves. This avaritious and pernicious felony laid 
the foundation of grevious annoyances to all the Eng¬ 
lish endeavours of settlements, especially in the north¬ 
ern parts of the land, for several years ensuing. The 
Indians would never forget or forgive this injury; but 
when the English afterwards came upon this coast, in 
their fishing-voyages, they were still assaulted in an 
hostile manner, to the killing and wounding of many 
poor men by the angry natives, in revenge of the wrong 
that had been done them; and some intended planta¬ 
tions here were hereby utterly nipt in the bud. But our 
good God so order’d it, that one of the stoln Indians, 
called Squanto, had escaped out of Spain into England ; 
where he lived with one Mr. Slany, from whom he had 


105 


found a way to return into his own country, being 
brought back by one Mr. Dermer, about half a year be¬ 
fore our honest Plymotheans were cast upon this conti¬ 
nent. This Indian (with the other) having received 
much kindness from the English, who he saw generally 
condemned the man that first betrayed him, now made 
unto the English a return of that kindness : and being 
by his acquaintance with the English language, fitted 
for a conversation with them, he very kindly informed 
them what was the present condition of the other In¬ 
dians ; instructed them in the way of ordering their corn ; 
and acquainted them with many other things, which it 
was necessary for them to understand. But Squanto 
did for them a yet greater benefit than all this : for he 
brought Massasoit, the chief sachim, or prince of the 
Indians within many miles, with some scores of his at- 
tenders, to make our people a kind visit; the issue of 
which visit was, that Massasoit not only entered into a 
firm agreement of peace with the English, but also they 
declared and submitted themselves to be subjects of the 
king of England; into which peace and subjection many 
other sachims quickly after came, in the most voluntary 
manner that could be expressed. It seems this unlucky 
Squanto having told his countrymen how casie it was 
for so great a monarch as K. James to destroy them all, 
if.they should hurt any of his people, he went on to ter- 
rifie them with a ridiculous rhodomantado, which they 
believed, that this people kept the plague in a cellar 
(where they kept their powder) and could at their pleas¬ 
ure let it loose to make such havock among them, as the 


106 


distemper had already made among them a few years be¬ 
fore. Thus was the tongue of a dog made useful to a 
feeble and sickly Lazarus! Moreover, our English 
guns, especially the great ones, made a formidable re¬ 
port among these ignorant Indians ; and the hopes of 
enjoying some defence by the English, against the po- i 
tent nation of Narraganset-Indians, now at war with 3 
these, made them yet more to court our friendship. 
This very strange disposition of things, was extreamly 
advantageous to our distressed planters : and who sees 
not herein the special providence of the God who dis- 
poseth all ?” 


L. H. YOUNG, 


J\*ew Haven , Conn . 

Has constantly for sale, a great variety 
of BOOKS, suitable for Sunday Schools. 
Also, a large stock of valuable Books, in 
every department of literature. 

Scott’s Bibles, with explanatory notes, 
practical observations, and copious margin¬ 
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CHRISTIAN’S OWN BOOK, being 
a series of meditations drawn from the pie¬ 
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Sumner’s Practical Exposition of the 
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Isaac Walton’s lives of Dr. John Donne, 
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Memoir of Griffin, a duodecimo volume 
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Infant Baptism, by Charles Jerram. 

The Bread of Deceit, a Sunday School 
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Law’s Serious Call to a devout and holy 
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WHISPERS to a newly married pair— 
a very popular and useful little work. Do¬ 
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BIBLES. Other Bibles, of various sizes. 
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SCHOOL BOOKS AND STATION 
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